Legend of Zelda: Compass of Secrets
by nameless-phantom
Summary: When a pair of orphans venture out into the forest, they find a mystic compass that leads them to a new world. But when this world is under an harsh rule, our heroes must reassemble an ancient artifact and rescue this land from the forces of evil.
1. Chapter 1: A Hero is Born

_Let me tell you a tale. A tale as old as the gods themselves. A tale that tells of the great power native to our land._

_This is another of the stories told by legend._

_Legends tell of a land blessed with green fields, happy people, and peace. This land was protected by a golden power sent by the gods. But when a great evil tried to take the golden power for himself, the land was drowned in darkness. When it seemed all hope was lost, a boy garbed in green appeared as if from nowhere. Wielding the legendary blade of evil's bane, he sealed the great evil away and peace returned to the land. Because the boy traveled through time to protect the land, the boy was known as "the Hero of Time." For a long time the people had thought that the evil being sealed by the hero was gone forever, but the dark beast had crawled up from the depths, seeking revenge on the Hero. The people pleaded to the gods, praying that the Hero would return to save them. But the Hero did not return. In their final hours, the gods opened a rift in the dimensions to a new world and created a compass leading back to their home land._

_What happened to this land? No one knows._

_Legend says that the compass in the legends still exists, and will lead anyone of descent back to the land spoken of in the legends._

_Our story now begins in a land named Pennsylvania with the young hero unaware of his destiny._

_-By nameless-phantom_

"Link! Link! Wake up Link! You don't want to miss the adoptions, do you? Come on, wake up Link!" I wake up to find a girl on top of me. "Laurel," I said, "I'm glad that you enjoy waking me up this early, but please, get off of me. And my name is Ben, not Link."

"I know, but I like calling you that."

"You and everyone else in this dump."

"Oh, Linky, you know that this is our dump we live in."

"Yeah, I know. Don't remind me."

"Link; do you even know what today is?"

I thought for a moment, which is hard to do when you're half asleep. "Umm, I'm pretty sure today is Tuesday."

Laurel scoffed. "Today's adoptions."

I was unmoved. "Great, another day of rejection and emotional trauma." I pulled the bedsheet over my head and tried to sleep some more. My quiet time didn't last long because Laurel pulled the bedsheet off my bed. "Link, get out of bed and get ready for the adoptions!" she yelled.

"Fine, I'll get ready, but I wouldn't be too excited."

You're probably getting confused by all of this so I'll explain everything. My name is Ben, and I'm an orphan. Yeah, save your sob stories for someone else, I'm not really into it. I live at the Maple Groves Children's Home and I've been here since I was 5. I'm 17 now. Yeah, that's a long time, I know. Forgive me if I'm a bit cynical. This girl I'm talking about is Laurel. She's been here for as long as I have, but she's as bright and cheerful as a new day, and while that's uplifting, it's pretty annoying. Don't get me wrong though, she's a pretty amazing girl. And pretty, too. She's almost like my sister, even if she's only a year younger. Anyways, I live in the middle of Western Pennsylvania about 50 miles from Pittsburgh. The town I live in isn't exactly a cultural hub. The only thing this town is famous for is being a half-hour drive from that one place where one of the planes from 9/11 went down. Yeah, that bad. We're literally in the middle of scenic nowhere. There's nothing to see here but trees. That and the odd mountain range in the distance. It's not the best sight, but a sight, nonetheless. Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, Laurel and I were being lined up for adoptions. Yep, imagine a 17-year-old young man and a 16-year old young woman lined up with a bunch of 3 to 13 year olds and you'll have a basic picture of what we looked like. I wasn't thinking about this at the time because I had my trusty DSi on. I was playing Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. My opinion on the game is that it wasn't half bad, even though a lot of people dissed it for having a train in it. I'll admit, the train parts are a bit boring sometimes, but the game in general was pretty good. I was known around the orphanage as the video game whiz. Give me any Mario, Zelda, or Pokémon game and I'll beat it 100% within three weeks. Four tops. Anyways, it would've ended like every other adoption day I've been in my twelve years here if it weren't for… that guy.

"All right kids, there's going to be a really important man here who wants to adopt one of you little boys and girls, so let's all try to make a good first impression, so set a good example and don't mess this up."

Laurel strangled my arm which made me drop my stylus. "Did you hear that, Link? Someone's here for us! I may finally be in my own family!"

I was unmoved as I paused my game, "Probably not, you've said that the last over 9000 times, and yes, I have been counting and we're still here."

Laurel let go and my left arm regained circulation. "You know, Link, you can be a jerk sometimes. I'll be adopted this time, you'll see."

"You said that every time, too." I said as I retrieved my stylus. "What are the chances that this guy will actually…?"

I was interrupted by a man saying, "What about her? Is she available?" He was pointing toward Laurel.

"Who Laurel? Yes, she can be adopted…" I tuned them out as I took a good look at this guy. He was tall and had brown skin, but red hair. He dressed in all black, which, come to think of it, was a good idea because it was starting to get chilly this time of year. Although, there was this nasty vibe I was getting from this guy and I didn't like it. I really got spooked when they started talking about me. I hate it when people are talking about me; I always think they insult me behind my back. They then told me to come into the back room for an interview. For me, I went ahead and blew the interview like I always do to people I don't like. However, this guy was more interested in me than I thought.

"So, your name's Ben, right?"

"Yep." I was playing my DS the whole time. My plan was to play my DS the whole interview to give off a "distracted and unfocused" tag and they'll go running faster than Sonic the Hedgehog running in a heavy downpour downhill while wearing rocket boosters. It's not a very good analogy, but it works every time. Except this guy seemed more interested in my game playing more than I thought.

"What game is that?"

I hate it when people question me about my game playing. "It's Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks."

"Really? You like those games?"

I was starting to respect this guy a little. "Yeah, I'm also interested in Pokémon and Super Mario Brothers. I can beat any of these games within a month. Everyone here calls me Link, 'cause I'm so good at video games."

"Interesting… well, I'll make my decision in a couple days, so keep in touch." They sent me out but I know what he really was thinking. Another successful rejection. They then called for Laurel. "Wish me luck Link, I'll finally be home!"

"Sure Laurel." I said, but then mumbled to myself. "Don't get your hopes up."

I waited an hour for her, and when she finally came out, she was overjoyed. "Link, he said he'll be back in a couple days! This is fantastic! I'm finally going to be part of a family!" Sometimes, I think she acts the same age as the kids around her. Sigh. I guess that's what I like about her… Anyways, I was ignoring her when she was blabbing on about what this guy was like. All I can remember is that his name was Greg or something, he was important in Arizona, or something, and that he searched all across the country for certain children. I told her that he said that he'd come back for me too, but that only added to her enthusiasm. Eventually, I ignored it and then went to bed. The next morning, I overslept, which I usually do, but Laurel wasn't in the room that morning. When I finally got dressed, I saw her with a vacant look on her face.

"Laurel, Laurel," no response. "Laurel, hello?"

Laurel snapped out of it like a trance. "Oh, hey Link."

"Is something the matter?"

"What? Oh, no, nothing." She turned to look at me and quickly turned away. "I'm not hiding anything."

I knew she was lying, but I decided to leave it alone for now. Laurel wasn't in a cheerful mood like she always was; she always looked like she saw a ghost. Whenever I asked her to talk about it, I always got the same response. As the days went by, she got more distressed, but she refused to talk to me about it. She had even stopped talking to me or anyone else, until late in the night before the guy came back.

"Link, Link, wake up. I've got to talk to you."

I wake groggy, but I know it's still dark out. "What? Laurel, why are you waking me up this early? It's 1 'til 2. Can't this wait until morning?"

"No, it can't." She sounded serious, so I started listening. "Well, I don't know how to put this… It's really hard for me to say this…"

"Just say it really fast." I said half interested.

"I don't want to be adopted by that man!"

"What?" I asked. Ever since I met her, all she would talk about was who would adopt her. She would fantasize about what kind of family she would have. She kind of grew out of it though, but still, it was so shocking hearing her contradict everything she said.

"I said, I don't want to be adopted by that guy."

"I don't understand. Ever since I met you, you've been dreaming of being adopted by someone, and you've been passed by for years! Now someone shows up, ready to adopt you, and you don't even want to go?"

"Well,"

"You're hiding something, aren't you?"

"What? No!" She wasn't making eye contact and was twisting her leg back and forth.

"Yeah, you are. You're doing that cute thing with your leg."

"Okay, I have something to confess."

"I'm all ears." I said trying to drift back to sleep.

"Well, I've been having these dreams."

"Dreams? Really?" I said, not really interested.

"Yeah, I was in this beautiful field having a picnic with…" she paused. "…some guy, when the ground opened up and this dark smoke came out and came out to look like that guy, but in different clothes and started choking me. Just when I was about to black out, this guy in green and a funny hat stabbed him and saved me."

"Really, a guy in green?"

"Yeah. He looked like that guy that you always play as, that Zelda guy."

"You mean Link."

"Yeah, that guy, Link."

I was not fooled. "Laurel, last week, you couldn't wait to be adopted, but now, you don't want to go. What do you think the guy is going to do?"

"Don't ask me that, and the guy is just…evil!"

I tried to calm her down. "Laurel, I know there's a lot of jerks and perverts out there, but calling him evil is a bit…"

"I know that, but this guy doesn't have that feeling like an ordinary jerk, this guy doesn't just make my skin crawl, but he has this power about him, like I had to hide in the corner somewhere."

Her argument made sense. "Okay, so you think the guy's evil. Big whoop, what are you going to do about it?"

Laurel stopped to think. "I'll run away."

I was shocked by her decision. "Laurel, no! You can't do this!"

"Don't try to change my mind. I'm already going to leave."

"You can't go! You've never been outside the town! Even if by some miracle, the cops don't catch you after curfew, where do you think you're going to go?"

Laurel gathered her things and supplies in a backpack and turned to me. "I'll go off on my own; maybe find a family of my own. It's just what my parents would have wanted."

"Your parents, huh?" I started warming up when she mentioned her parents. Most people's parents either gave them up or died. Laurel was unlucky enough to have both her parents die while she was young.

"Yeah, my dad died in a freak accident. My mom died of some disease or something… I don't even remember anymore…" She pulled out a necklace from under her shirt collar to reveal a golden V-shaped necklace. "When I was four, and my mom was on her death bed, she told me to protect this with my life. She said it's a priceless family heirloom. Whenever I look at it, all of my problems, they instantly vanish. I always feel calm and my thoughts are clear. I can even feel my mother's warmth when I look into this." We both looked at it deeply. I could feel it too, all of my troubles melted away. I felt warmth that enveloped my whole body. Laurel then took the necklace back and placed it back under her shirt collar. "Don't expect me to wait for you. You don't have to come with me, but if you want to spend the rest of your life in this dump, go right ahead. Good bye, Ben." Laurel then jumped out the window and grabbed a tree branch outside and dropped to the ground a floor down. She then walked out of the light into the night. Laurel's words had stung me hard. The clock read 2:11 and I tried to sleep. But no matter how much I tried to fall asleep, I just couldn't. I couldn't bear to leave Laurel alone in the woods, so I did what I had to do. I grabbed a small bag, put some snacks, a notebook, a bunch of pencils, my wallet, and my DSi in it and jumped out the window after her.


	2. Chapter 2: The Adventure Begins

I searched for hours in the woods looking for Laurel. There was no sign of her. I mentally banged my head. _Stupid! _I thought to myself. _Why didn't you follow her when you had the chance? _It would be another two hours until I finally found her at sunrise. She called down at me from the orange covered trees. "Link! Up here!" I had to focus to find her. She carefully jumped out of the tree. "Follow me!" I followed her out deeper into the forest, until we reached a tree house in the largest tree I ever saw. "Well? Do you like it?"

I was speechless. "Laurel, did you…? How did…?"

Laurel giggled. "No, Link. I just found this tree house here while I was wandering. We can use this as our home for the next few days." She started to climb up the makeshift ladder nailed to the tree, and beckoned me to follow. I started climbing up beneath her. As I poked my head through the trap door of the tree house, I saw that the floor was littered with various items. "Chips?" I took some from Laurel as she munched on the rest. "So, how many times did you come here?"

"I came here, a lot. Sometimes, I hear something when the wind blows. It's very relaxing." I tried to listen but I couldn't hear anything. "Well, the wind isn't blowing as hard now."

"Hmm." I took her anecdote with a grain of salt. Laurel, well, she's a bit too idealistic for her own good. "So, what are our plans?"

"Well, I don't know… maybe we could explore. I mean, didn't you ever want to know what was in our own backyard?"

"That sounds nice, but…I would like something to protect myself."

"Well, um…" Laurel rummaged around and produced a long sword. "Maybe you could use this."

I looked at her in disbelief. "Laurel. That's a sword. Don't you have anything more, potent? Like a gun or something?"

"Come on, Link! Don't you play those games?"

"Yeah, but playing a game doesn't usually substitute for skill."

"Come on, just try it."

I pondered it for a moment, and I took the sword. I unsheathed it, and started swinging it around, away from Laurel of course. The sword seemed well balanced. I tried to do all those moves that Link could in the games. To an extent, I could pull them off. Laurel clapped for a moment. "Well, done Link."

"You know, you don't have to keep calling me that." I said.

"But I can't! With that sword, you look a lot like a Link to me, Ben." Laurel replied.

I sighed and decided to go along with it. I sheathed the sword and slung the scabbard across my chest so the blade was strapped behind my back. "I don't know, Laurel. I still don't feel safe with just a sword. Do you have a shield or something?"

Laurel rummaged through the things and retrieved a wooden shield with an indiscriminate symbol on it. I looked at it and took it. It wasn't splintery, so that was good. At least it won't fall apart with too many hits. It wasn't very heavy, so it was easy to use. I strapped it onto my back as well, making sure I could easily and quickly pull it off my back. With practice, I was able to pull it off my back with ease. "All right, so if you're finally ready, let's go!"

"Let's grab some food, first." Laurel grabbed as much food as she could and stashed them in her bag. "We should also get a map, too. This way, we won't get lost." Laurel and I looked around, and I saw a parchment with a map of the relative area with an ornate compass sitting atop it as a paperweight.

"Did you find one, yet?" Laurel said as she walked over to me.

"Yeah," I said as I rolled up the map and placed the compass in my pocket. Laurel looked quizzically at me. Reading her expression, I explained, "We should take the compass, too. We can find our way easier this way."

"But how do you know it points north?" she asked.

I looked out the window. "The sun rose and it's in that direction, right?" Laurel nodded. "Well, the sun always rises in the east. The arrow on this compass points north. When I point the compass that way…" The arrow turned counter-clockwise as I turned it. "it points this way. So that way is north."

"That's amazing, Link!"

I was flattered. "Well, you're lucky I have an amazing sense of direction!"

"Well, now that we're ready, let's go!"

Excited, and a bit impatient, I climbed down and let go of the ladder. I hit the ground with thud as I whimpered a bit as I sprained my ankle a bit. Laurel laughed at me as I started walking it off. I can take damage easily. I'm tough like that. After all, I grew up in an orphanage! Laurel climbed down slowly, and she jumped off when she was close to the ground. "Well, where to now?"

Laurel walked around for a bit, and she pointed toward a cave. "Let's go in there!"

It was my turn to look quizzically. "Why?"

"Well, haven't you wondered…?"

"Yes, yes, I remember… 'what's in our backyard?' But, I'm a bit wary about going into unfamiliar caves."

"Aw, but I thought you would be braver than that!"

"Those were games! This is real life! There aren't any continues, or healing fairies, or 1-up's or anything!"

Laurel decided to ignore me and started running into the cave. "Laurel!" As an aside, a mentioned, "She's going to drive me crazy." I rushed in to catch up with her.


	3. Chapter 3: Misty Cavern

As I ventured deeper into the cave, I slowed to a walk. The cave was only lit by torches, which was odd, and a thin mist, which was a bit suspicious. The cave twisted and turned and branched off in many different directions. "Link!" Laurel's voice echoed. I ran up to her, and she was in a large room. It was lit with a bunch of torches. "Over here!" she yelled.

"Have you seen enough yet?" I asked her.

"No, I just know that there's something in here. Maybe it's some hidden treasure!"

"Probably guarded by something big and hungry, so let's just leave before anything happens."

"Come on, Link! Where's your sense of adventure?" She said as she walked to a stone door.

"Back at the tree house…" I added as an aside.

Laurel was struggling to push the stone door aside. "Link, can you help with this door?" I sighed and pushed the door aside. "Thanks, Link." We both passed through the door and we ended up in a room containing a shallow pit with a large stone block with strange markings on it in the pit. As we went farther in the room, the door slid shut loudly. Laurel decided to look around. I did the same. It seems that there are two exits, but one is on a high ledge that we both can't reach, and the other is barred. "How are we supposed to get through here?" Laurel's attention focused to the block. "There's got to be something we can do with this block!" Laurel started pushing it. The block stayed put. "Come on, rock! Budge!" The block decided to listen, which made Laurel fall in the dust. I chuckled a bit. Laurel was fuming with embarrassment. "Well if you think you're such a hot shot, why don't you do it!" I shrugged and walked over to the block. I started pushing it, and it started slowly moving.

"Hey, Laurel, can you look for a switch of some kind? I'm going to try to push it to that ledge." Laurel went away and looked closely to the ground while I pushed the block. When I pushed it to the wall, I climbed on top of it and realized something. "Hmm, it's too high for me to climb up here."

"Hey, Link!" Laurel called over to me. "I think there's a small pressure pad right here! But I can't get it to activate!"

I thought for a moment. "Maybe you're too light, I'm going to get this block over here." I searched the block and saw a couple hand holds. It was a lot harder pulling the block than pushing it. "Right here?" Laurel nodded. As I pushed the block onto the spot where Laurel noted, the bars over the other door had opened.

"Hey, we can open this door now!" Laurel walked to the door and started to push it aside.

"I guess we're going the long way." I said to myself as I pushed the door aside. The next room had had a circular layout with three unlit torches. As soon as I started walking in the room, strange plants started sprouting from the ground. They didn't have any leaves or flowers (honestly, did I really think that something in here would have flowers?), but they had a disgusting looking bud that split into a mouth.

"Link! What are those things?" Laurel hid behind me.

"I don't know, they were supposed to be just a game, but…"

"Does that look like just a game to you?"

I drew my sword and shield. "Looks like we'll find out."

"Link, you can't be serious! You're actually going to fight those things? You could get hurt!" Ignoring her, I walked up to the plants, holding my shield up. The first plant hit my shield with a thud. Good to know the shield works. I slashed its head/bud, and it started reeling away. I slashed it twice more and it fell over and withered. The next one I started attacking right away, and slashed its stem in half. It started oozing some green… I don't even know. It was kind of gross. The last one started attacking me, but my shield deflected its blows. I slashed at its stem and it died, too. As soon as they all died, they exploded into purple dust.

"You were amazing, Link!"

"Well, I was playing those games. I should know what I'm doing." I took this time to look around. There were three doors. One had bars like the one in the other room, another was chained up and locked, but the least one was clear. "Let's go that way." I said, pointing to the third door. Laurel followed behind me as I opened the door. This room was completely dark, only lit by a single torch.

"It's too dark in here, Link." Laurel said.

"Well, maybe there are more torches in here." I grabbed a nearby stick and tossed it to Laurel. I lit it on fire and started searching for more torches. Laurel did the same and lit all the torches.

"I think that's all of them." I said.

Laurel pointed up. "No, there's one up there. There's a ladder up here." I climbed the short ladder while the stick was about to burn out. I quickly brought the smoldering stick and lit the last torch. All of a sudden, a bright light shone and materialized into a treasure chest. "What was that light?" Laurel asked as she climbed up the ladder.

"This chest just appeared out of nowhere."

"Well, open it!" I opened the chest and found a small key. "Maybe that goes to the one in the last room!" Laurel climbed back down the stairs and I dropped down. I pushed the door aside and went to the locked door. I stuck the key in the lock, but it wouldn't budge. "Come on, lock. Open!" It turned with a crack and the lock fell off the door. I pushed that one aside. When we both walked into the room, the door shut and bars covered the door.

"We're trapped! We've got to find a way out!" Laurel started searching the door. There was a short cliff that I didn't think I'd be able to climb back up. I went ahead and jumped down. "Link! What are you doing?"

"There's a ladder here, but it's too high to reach. How do I get it…" There were two more monsters down here around a campfire. As soon as they saw me, they grabbed their weapons. I grabbed my own sword and shield as well. They started wailing their weapons at me, but my shield kept blocking them.

"Link, be careful!" Laurel shouted down her caution. I got them out of my way with a spin attack. It was my first time actually pulling it off, but the two monsters fell to the ground. They both got up, and I stabbed the first monster, and it turned to purple dust. The other one hit my side with its club. It didn't hurt enough to knock me down, but I slashed it before it could hit me again. It fell to the ground and died in a burst of purple dust. As soon as the second one died, the ladder behind me fell to the ground. Laurel climbed down and ran beside me. "Are you okay, Link?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. The ladder came down, but the door's still blocked."

"Well, there's another ladder over there. And there's another treasure chest!"

I walked over to the chest and slowly opened it. Inside the chest was an old oil lantern. "It's a lantern."

"Cool, now we can see in dark rooms!"

"Well, first I have to figure out how to turn it on…" I fiddled with it and the lantern glowed with a healthy flame. "So, now how to get out of here…" My eyes were fixed on an unlit torch. "Well, if the ways things had happened in this cave so far, this torch will probably open the door!" I opened the lantern and the flame caught the wood on the torch. As soon as that happened, the bars lifted. "Come on, Laurel. Let's go." I climbed the ladder while Laurel followed. I opened the door for Laurel again and followed through. I shifted my attention to the other unlit torches. Laurel said what I was thinking and said, "If lighting the torches worked in that last room, why don't we try it here?" I lit the torches and the bars on the last door rose. I opened the door for Laurel again and this time, there was a large pool of water. It looked too shallow to simply swim across, and climb up. There was a conveniently placed switch near the side of the room. "Okay Laurel, follow my lead." I stepped on the switch and then three large stepping stones rose from the water. There was a ticking sound coming from the switch, so I quickly jumped from the stepping stones onto the shore on the other side. Laurel was falling behind. "Laurel! Hurry up! It won't stay up for long!" Laurel picked up the pace as the ticking sped up. "Hurry!" The stepping stones started sinking and she jumped. I quickly grabbed her hands and pulled her up onto the ledge. "Don't worry, I got you."

"Thanks Link." Her cheeks turned a faint shade of red as she came to her senses. "Come on. We're almost at the end. I can feel it."

"Yeah. I mean, what was I so dramatic about back there? I mean, it's just water." Laurel nodded silently, still blushing. I opened the door and I was greeted by darkness.

"It's too dark in here! Light your lantern, please?" Laurel said.

Happy to see, I lit the lantern and it shone brightly. As soon as I lit it, a whole bunch of bats woke and started dive-bombing us. I drew my sword and started waving it around like crazy. I killed a lot of them, but the lantern's light was dying. I warded away the last one away, and grabbed Laurel's hand. "Come on! We've got to find a way out of here." The corridors started winding until they hit a dead end.

"No, there's not enough time to turn around!" Laurel started to panic.

I looked closer at the dead end, and it had the same markings as the block in the first room. "No, hang on. This is just a huge block." I tried to push it but it wouldn't move. The lantern ran out of fuel. "Laurel, help me push it." Laurel pushed with me and it started moving slowly. It felt like we were pushing that block for ages, until we finally saw a small ray of light coming from the corners. "We're almost out! Just a little bit more!" The block fell with a heavy crash! When I looked around, I saw that we were back in the first room.

"Wait, why are we back in here? We just went in a circle! That was kinda pointless if you ask me." I jumped down and caught Laurel as she fell.

I jumped off the block and onto the floor. "Wait a minute. No it wasn't. Help me pull this block out of the way." Laurel dropped down, and I caught her again. It was much harder pulling it.

"I hate… pulling this. Pushing it… was more fun!" Laurel was expressing my sentiments.

"It's okay Laurel, we're getting close to the wall. We can push now." We turned to the other side and started pushing it. As soon as we got to the other side of the room, the block sunk into the ground so that we could climb to the ledge above. I jumped up to the top and offered my hand to Laurel. She jumped up and grabbed my hand and I pulled her up. We climbed the ledge up to the door and I opened it again for her. In this room, we saw a large door up a short staircase.

"This is it, I can feel it!" Laurel said. She ran to the huge door and tried to open it. I walked slowly to the door and opened it with her, knowing that there won't be any going back. When we walked in, the huge door slid shut. In the room was a glowing ball of light. I heard a calming voice say, "Welcome, young heroes. I have been awaiting your arrival for a long time."

I drew my sword and shield and asked it, "Who are you?" A ray of light shined at both me and Laurel and the world faded into white.


	4. Chapter 4: Link's Awakening

I woke up in a white room. There was a small pool in the center with three waterfalls coming down into it. I slowly stood up as I realized that my sword and shield were sheathed. I was looking around again as a woman walked out of the waterfall. She was simply stunning. Her skin glistened with droplets of water, but she didn't seem to get wet at all. Her dress was smooth and flowed off her form like a cascade. It looked like a solid white, but in the right light, shimmered a very light blue. Her long dark hair flowed behind her like the waterfalls behind her. Her beauty simply was amazing. I hadn't seen anything like it in my entire, sheltered life. Then she spoke. "I am Nayru, goddess of Wisdom. Welcome, young hero."

"Wait, so this… and you… I thought you were just a myth."

Nayru looked somewhat sullen. "Yes, I know about that game that you played. I remember the first time you had come. It was also through a cave in the woods. I believe you called yourself… Miyamoto back then."

"Wait, so Miyamoto's idea of Zelda…"

"Was based off his own adventures as a child? Yes, yes it was. Many more heroes have since come and gone. And now… it is you."

I was taken aback. "Wait, me? I think you've got the wrong person."

"Destiny does not lie. Come, look for yourself." Nayru gestured to the pool in front of me. I looked at the pool, and I saw that I was wearing a long green hat at the back of my head.

I was stammering like crazy. I was dressed like Link in the games "Wha…but…how?"

"As I said before, destiny does not lie. You now have the garments of the chosen hero. And now for the business I called you for." The compass that I had in my pocket had suddenly appeared in her hands. "This is the Compass of Secrets. In ancient times, it let your people to this world. To prevent anyone from misusing its power, we sealed away its powers. However, the boundaries between our world and yours are weakening, and both worlds are becoming more and more dangerous. You must find the other two and reassemble the Compass of Secrets."

"Wait, I have a few questions."

"Proceed."

"First, what do you mean 'my people?'"

"You are no ordinary human. You are a Hylian; a person born of Hylian blood is more resilient, more powerful, more adaptable than any ordinary human."

"That explains why I wasn't hurt as much as I should have back there."

"Your skill with a sword and shield is no accident. Now, time is short. You must leave. Talk to your friend, she plays an important part as well." As she spoke, the world faded again.

When it came back, I was lying next to Laurel as she woke up. "Laurel, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I met someone. She said that I was of a different race and that the compass that you have can lead us to someplace called 'Hyrule.' She gave me this." She took out a shining blue gem. "She said that this is Nayru's Sapphire. We just need to place this in the compass." I gave her the compass and she placed it in a slot in the side. The compass and the gem shined a bright light and the compass's needle spun like a madman until it pointed a certain direction. "This should point toward one of the other gems! Come on, let's go!" Laurel started walking in a certain direction. Laurel suddenly took a double-take at me and remarked, "Whoa, Link? When did you change into that?"

"Well, I was told that I was some legendary hero and that these were here to prove that I was."

"Well, you were always legendary to me…" Laurel blushed for a few moments and then turned around. "Well, which way does that compass turn to?"

I pointed in the right direction, "That way."

Laurel pointed the same way. "Well, it looks like we're going back to civilization, then." There was a small town at the bottom of the ridge.

"Great, I just left society, and now I look like I'm late to a cosplay convention." I replied.

"Well, don't worry about them. If we're looking for gems like this one, they're probably going to be in some kind of abandoned building or cave."

I shrugged. "I still won't feel comfortable looking like this. People are going to make fun."

Laurel waved a hand back, "Don't listen to them. They're not a legendary hero." Laurel started walking back toward the town.

"Yeah, lucky them." I went and followed her. When we entered the town, I saw a couple of posters of missing children. There was one that had my picture and Laurel's picture. I promptly tore it down and put them in my pocket. No one needed to find us.

"Hey, Link." Laurel beckoned. "Listen."

I listened closely. "So, any news about the water plant?" one guy asked.

"No, that thing is still running amok. I heard that it got Bob." Another guy asked.

"Aw, really? I liked Bob!"

"Yeah, I heard that it's like one of them survival horror games in there. I heard that it gets your scent, and then without warning, it grabs a hold of you, never to be seen again."

The second guy shivered. "It's enough to give me the chills."

Laurel walked over and asked, "Excuse me, where's this water plant you're talking about?"

"It's down by the river, outside of town."

"You'd best stay away from there, little lady. Too pretty to be wandering around there."

I quickly stepped to her side. "Yeah, too pretty. Now, come on Laurel, let's go!" I dragged her to the side and whispered, "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting another one of those gems, for you. Take out that compass, it's got to be pointing to there!"

"So what if it does? I'm not going in there, there's some kind of monster in there."

"So? You've fought those monsters in the cave!"

"That was different, this is... it's dangerous!"

"Listen, you're…"

"A hero, yes, I know. Thanks for reminding me within five minutes!"

"Do you know what heroes do?"

"No Laurel, I don't. Please, enlighten me!"

"They help people! They risk their own lives for the good will of others. They're selfless, strong, and brave. They can take on anything that comes their way! Now that thing has been terrorizing these people for who-knows-how long! So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go to that plant and get rid of that monster!"

"Yeah, that's the Link I know!" Together, we walked to the abandoned plant, while I still had a hint of fear in my eyes.


	5. Chapter 5: Abandoned Water Plant

We walked up a dirt road that was littered with countless 'Keep out' signs. When we came up to the plant, we saw that all the windows were boarded up and the door was covered in boards. Laurel started trying to pull the bars off. "Come on, wood, budge!"

I pulled Laurel back, and drew my sword. "Let me take care of it." I slashed into the wooden barriers and it dug in with a thok sound. I slashed into it a few more times and I finished with a spin attack, and the old wood broke into splinters. Laurel pushed aside the broken door as it fell off its hinges. I drew my sword again and walked cautiously.

Laurel noted the vines across the walls. "What's with all the vines? It looks like they're moving."

I put my hand on the vines. That guy was right. This was out of some horror novel or something. The vines were pulsing, that was something vines don't normally do. In fact, they didn't feel like vines at all… "Laurel, watch out! The plants, they're alive!"

Laurel turned around. "They're what?" Suddenly, a slimy vine wrapped itself around Laurel's leg. Laurel tripped and noticed the vine. She frantically started to tug on it, but it wouldn't budge. Suddenly, out of the shadows, several more vines wrapped themselves around Laurel's body and started dragging her away. She screamed out to me and I ran after her, "Ben! Link! Help mmm, mmm mmmph…" The vines had covered her mouth, and she was dragged into the shadows.

"No, Laurel!" I fell to my knees as stopped running. She couldn't be gone just like that! "I'm going to rip that thing to shreds!" I started walking down the hallway and I opened a door. Inside were a couple of those plants that I saw in the cave. "Get back, you ugly plants!" I said as I slashed their ugly stems off. They kept bouncing around, chomping like crazy. I stabbed one so that it split in half, and the other I slashed at until it was purple dust I saw a small chest in the corner, so I sheathed my sword and put away my shield. I opened the chest. Inside was a piece of parchment showing the layout of the plant. I examined it closely; there were three floors to this plant. The first floor was where all the workplaces were. The second floor had all the controls to the water plant, while the third floor had all the machinery. I didn't know which room had that monster, but I had to look in them all.

I walked out the door and I opened the door across the hallway. In the corner was a strange looking plant. I looked at it and I poked it with my sword. As soon as I hit it harder, it exploded and I was sent reeling back across the room. "Ouch, that should've hurt more than it did." I remembered that I was technically a Hylian, but it still hurt. I examined a wall and it looked weak. It looked like my sword couldn't do anything, but I'd bet a bomb would blow it to bits! I ripped up the bomb plant, now that I looked at it, it looked like a flower. Anyways, I chucked it to the other side of the room and I turned away from the explosion. The wall was blasted to bits and behind it was a small chest. I kicked it open and I saw a key inside. I hooked it to a belt loop and I walked out the door.

The door next to it was locked, but I didn't want to use my key yet. The door across the hall wasn't though, so I opened it and went through. I was greeted by one of those plants but it was hanging from the ceiling. I flinched, but I realized that it couldn't reach me. I wacked it with my sword and all it did was sing back and forth. I started waving my sword wildly and yelled, "Why. Won't. You. Die?" I decided to stop and look around. I saw that in the corner was a hole in the ceiling. I would need something to get myself up there. I hit the plant again before I exited. I unlocked the door, and I found two more of those plants inside. "More of them? How many of these things are there?" I slashed at their stems with a spin attack, and they died when I came back around. Inside was a ladder with another key tied to it. I grabbed the key and placed it where the old one was. I grabbed the ladder with both hands and I opened both doors and propped it against the hole.

I carefully climbed the ladder, and I saw that the door in here was locked as well. I grabbed the key and unlocked the door. The key stuck fast, but I guessed I didn't need it anymore. "I believe that I'm on the second floor now. One door was locked; another was covered in those vines, the same vines that took Laurel away. I tried hacking at it with my sword. They didn't budge. I furiously gave up and entered the open door. Inside was another plant. I'm getting really tired of these plants. I hacked off its stem and stabbed it in the bud. As soon as it disintegrated into purple dust, a light shined and it materialized as a small chest. I kicked it open and I found another key. I kept it out and I unlocked the door. As soon as I entered, more of the slimy vines covered the door. Inside the room was a large and important looking chest. However, before I could move, a giant version of those plants snatched it up and it spat it out into a monstrous maw that it was connected to. The plant turned toward me, as I drew my sword and shield again. "Great, this will not be fun." I said.


	6. Chapter 6: A Child's Plaything

I stood there waiting for the first move. The first thing it did was rush me. I blocked it with my shield. I staggered back a bit. That plant could hit hard! I just got to dodge its blows. It tried ramming me again, so I side-stepped out of the way. And I started wailing on its head. The giant plant reeled with every hit. "Huh, so you're as bulky as you are ugly." I bantered, "Maybe we should fix that." The plant took offense and it snapped at my leg. I side-stepped again and used a spin attack on it.

"Just headbutting and biting? And I thought you'd be harder that this!" The plant rose and it slammed its head down, and it started spinning. I took a dive in the dirt. I was caught off-guard. As I got up, the plant snapped again, and it bit my leg. I screamed in pain as it started dragging me. I started stabbing it in its bud. "Let go, you stupid, ugly, son of a…" It let go before I finished my sentence. My left leg was bleeding where it bit me. The only reason it wasn't as bad as it should was because of my natural hardiness. "All right, time to end this!" I held up my shield and waited for an opening. The plant tried another spinning attack, but I jumped backward as it kept going around. When it stopped, I set up a combo slashing attack as I finished it off with a spin attack. The plant roared in pain as it exploded into purple dust. I twirled my sword as I sheathed it, proclaiming, "That takes care of that." in an annoyed tone.

The monstrous plant in the middle noticed the absence of its partner and it revealed a set of fangs in its mouth. I winced a bit at that sight, as well as the pain in my leg. I still wasn't sure how this Hylian damage resistance worked yet. Was it so that I won't feel the pain as the actual damage was taking its toll, or is my body resistant to damage, so I won't get seriously hurt? If I jumped off a building, would it still hurt, or would I just walk it off as if it were nothing? I shook that train of thought away as I decided to walk around. My leg stung as I walked around the room. In the corner, I discovered a familiar sight. "A bomb flower!" I ripped it off its roots and the fuse lit. "Well, if you liked that chest," I said to the plant, "then you'll find this a blast!" I threw the bomb flower into the plant. The plant inhaled the bomb, then the center bulged as smoke came out of its mouth. The plant shriveled up and exploded into purple dust. In its place was a chest. I walked up to it and opened it. A light shined inside it, and when it died down, I discovered a boomerang.

"A boomerang…" I examined the boomerang. It was wooden, and ornately designed. It had a red gem in the bend. Its edges were sharp, which was good. I decided to try to throw it. I held it over my shoulder with my fingertips on the end of the pointed tip. I flicked my arm and tossed the boomerang. It started spinning and turning to the left. It arced in a circle until I caught it in my throwing hand. I threw the boomerang again, but this time I started walking backward. I focused on the boomerang, and it started arcing back toward me. This is no ordinary boomerang. I knew for a fact that normal boomerangs don't really come back, but this one came back no matter what! I turned back to the vine covered door. "Maybe this thing can cut those vines! I focused on those vines. They were pulsing as if they were alive as before. These were no doubt like the ones that took Laurel. I tossed the boomerang at the vines, and the boomerang cut through them as if they were made of butter. The vines started spraying green… whatever it was, like a fire hose until they withered into dust. The door was now freed, and I exited that room.

I turned the corridors, but they both were blocked by fallen rubble. I noticed more of those vines covering a door behind me, so I tossed my boomerang at them. Instead of arcing into the wall, it went straight for the vines, where it cut them clean through and returned. I searched for a place to put it, so I placed it on a loop. It looked like it was meant for the boomerang. I opened this door and discovered another bomb flower. I rolled it toward an unstable wall that looked bombable and it gave way to another small chest. I opened it up and it contained a small key.

With nothing left to do, I went back to the room with the ladder in it. As I climbed down, the plant hanging from the ceiling started snapping at me again. To be honest, I forgot it was there. I pulled out my boomerang and tossed it at the hanging plant. "I'm back." I told it as the boomerang cut its stem. I then pulled out my sword and cut it in half. I opened the door and went down the other corridor I didn't before. There were more vines and an open door. I cut the vines off with my boomerang, and then I entered through the door.

Inside was an ornate looking chest guarded by three of those plants. One of them was rooted to the ceiling, like the one in the other room. I drew my boomerang and threw it. It cut through all three of the plant's stems and I finished all three with a spin attack. As I caught my boomerang, I noted, "I'm getting better with my sword play. And this thing can hit more than one target? That's handy." I opened this chest to reveal a large, sinister looking key. The head had a green gem and strange pictures on it. The most prominent looked like a slug with several tendrils emanating from its body. I put it in a pack that I had when I got these clothes. To be honest, I still hadn't found all the pockets and loops on that thing. I exited, and then I entered a room next door.

In this room, there was one of those plants in the corner. I brought out my shield just in time, and then I slashed at it a couple times. The plant shrieked, crumpled up, and died in a purple dust. As soon as the dust cleared, a bomb flower sprouted in its place. I examined the wall across from me, and it looked weak, as well. I pulled it out, and I rolled it at the wall. I held my shield out to block the explosion. Inside was another chest. Inside this one, was a small compass. I held it up to the map I got earlier, and the compass embedded itself in the map. After that, a skull icon appeared on the third floor. "That must be where that monster is! That's where I'm heading next." I referenced my map and I opened a door to the stairs. My leg started bothering me again when I climbed up the stairs. Without warning, some vines started waving in my face, knocking me down.

Grumbling indistinctly, I pulled out my boomerang again, and I threw it at the thrashing vines. The vines kept spasming as they hit the floor, until they exploded into purple dust. I put away my boomerang, and I limped up the stairs. When I exited, I noticed a small elevator, but it didn't respond when I pressed the up button. Referring to my map again, there was one room left. I entered that room and was greeted by a lot of buttons and knobs silent. I looked at one of the gauges, and it read, "Water pressure." I tried to look out the window, but it was boarded up. I drew my sword again, and I broke the boards off the window. Out in the distance was a lever that was holding the water back. I aimed my boomerang carefully and focused on that lever. Then, I tossed it out the window. It twirled at the lever, and then it slammed the lever to the other side as the boomerang arced to the left. As soon as that happened, the water started rushing into the electric part of the plant. The power came back on, and all the ceiling lights came on. I searched the control panel until I saw a switch that said, "Elevator control." I flipped the switch and I heard the humming of machinery. I walked back to the elevator, and this time the door opened. The elevator climbed up and lurched to a stop.

This was the third floor, where hopefully Laurel was being held. When I exited the elevator, to my right was a gigantic metal door, with a turnstile lock on it, with a bigger, but more sinister looking lock that chained the door shut. There was no doubt that this is where that monster is being kept. I grabbed the big key that I found earlier, and I said to myself, "Well, for every big lock," I jabbed the key into the lock as it turned and the lock and all the chains fell with a clanging noise, "there's a big key." I turned the turn lock and opened the large door.

I could only hope I wasn't too late…


	7. Chapter 7: Mutated Abomination

Inside the room was a very horrifying sight. The roof was a bunch of pipes that was steaming, now that I turned on the power. But, that's not the horrifying part. What was terrible was that the walls and ceiling was covered in those vines. But the worst part was that on the ceiling, there were several vines with skeletons trapped in them; most of them human. The clothing was still on the ones hanging on the ceiling, the others were strewn across the floor. I started looking around, calling, "Laurel?" I heard nothing. "Laurel?" I heard some faint mumbling. I called her name again. "Laurel, can you hear me?"

"Link? Is that you, Link?"

I turned around, and there she was, bound to the roof with the oozing vines wrapped around her like a cocoon. "Laurel! Are you okay?"

"Aside from the vines sucking the life out of me? Never better!" Laurel said in a strained, sarcastic, yet sweet tone. "Now, could you please get me out? I think some of these vines are getting curious."

I whipped out my boomerang, and I aimed for the vines holding Laurel to the roof. I then tossed it at vines where it cleaved through them like a paper shredder. Laurel fell ungracefully to the ground. I caught my boomerang and placed it on its loop. I rushed to Laurel to free her from the vines. She sat up in my arms and said to me, "Thank you, Link. For a minute there, I thought I was a goner." She them moved up to kiss me on my cheek. I heard some grotesque squishing, and then, the door shut and locked itself.

"Can you get to the corner of the room?" I asked her. Laurel nodded and started crawling to the corner of the room. "It doesn't look like we're through yet." I looked to the room, and the mass of vines came to life as a white blob with white tentacles on its back. The tentacles had bright purple bulbs on the tips of them. It reminded me of a plant I remember reading about. It was a carnivorous plant, like a Venus fly trap, except it envelops its prey with sticky tentacles, like what it almost did to Laurel, except this was a slug of some sort. For sake of simplicity, I'll call it Slugdew. I drew my sword and shield and waited for it to attack. Slugdew started whipping its tentacles at my shield. It didn't have any effect, so I stepped aside and lobbed them off. Only after I cut them, they started regrowing before my eyes. What I didn't notice is that the other tentacles had hit my other side. They didn't hurt where my tunic was, but where they hit my arm was stinging. "Great, the thing must be poisonous or something."

"Link!" Laurel was calling. "It's connected to the roof! Cut off the vines on the roof!"

I looked carefully, and there was indeed vines connecting Slugdew to the roof. I sheathed my sword and pulled out my boomerang. I tossed it at the vines connecting Slugdew to the roof. The left side of him was hanging from the roof. I kept my shield out to block Slugdew's tentacles, until I could get his other side. I tossed my boomerang at it again, and Slugdew fell to the ground, exposing a green underbelly. That was my chance to strike! I drew my sword and started venting my frustration on Slugdew's weak spot. The slug flipped over and crawled on the walls and back to its original position on the roof.

Slugdew grew more tentacles and started rushing them at me. I deflected them with a spin attack and threw my boomerang. "Well, it's bulkier that it looks. Still won't be a problem, though. The boomerang hit Slugdew's vines and it was almost falling. As I caught my boomerang, one of the poisoned tentacles hit my bad leg. I keeled over in pain as I tossed the boomerang at Slugdew again. Laurel whimpered when she saw me fall over. I tried to ignore the pain as I slashed away at Slugdew's underbelly again. I would have done more if it weren't for my stupid leg.

Slugdew started to crawl on the ceiling again and went for one last stand. The tentacles wrapped around Laurel hiding in the corner and dragged her to its body, as she let out a terrified shriek. "Link, help!" I tossed my boomerang at the tentacles and I caught her as she fell. She jumped out of my arms as I held my shield to block the tentacles. I tried to get a better shot at the vines, holding Slugdew to the roof, but the tentacles were chasing Laurel again. I had no choice but to throw the boomerang at the tentacles again.

"Laurel, it's going after you! Hide behind me so I can get a better aim!" Laurel crawled behind me as I threw the boomerang at Slugdew's vines holding it to the ceiling. I blocked more of the tentacles with my shield and slashed the flanking tentacles with my sword. As we circled around Slugdew, I threw my boomerang to cut the last vines. I finally jabbed with all my might into its underbelly. "This is for taking Laurel." I yelled as I stabbed the monster. "This is for fighting those stupid plants." The monster was shrieking with each hit. "And this is for being annoying!" With the final blow, Slugdew shrieked a final time. As it was dying, all the other vines withered around us and melted into purple dust. Slugdew's body finally withered into a brown husk, as Laurel stomped it under her foot.

I twirled and sheathed my sword as a shining light appeared in the center of the room. "So, this is it."

Laurel nodded. "Thanks again for saving me back there, I…"

"Don't mention it. After all, I am a hero. Aren't I?"

"Yes." Laurel was blushing. "Yes you are." With that we both stepped into the light.

Inside, I was alone. There was a gazebo in the center of a room like Nayru's except there were bushes and trees around the pillars. Sitting in the gazebo was another woman, except she had a flowery dress, as if it would blow away when the next gust of wind came. Speaking of wind, it was nice and calm, as if it were gently rocking me to sleep. The woman suddenly appeared in the seat across from me. "I am Farore, Goddess of Courage. You have truly proven youself worthy of the hero's garments." She motioned for me to have a seat. I sat down in the wicker chair across from her. "Since your coming, the world has become more and more unstable. I hid here where nature runs naturally, but recently, I have been sealed away by a dark power. The time is now for you to act against this threat. Go now, and accept your destiny!" As she said that, the world faded in a blend of autumn colors.


	8. Chapter 8: A Hero's Reception

When the light faded, I found myself with Laurel back outside the entrance to the plant. We started to walk up the path when my leg was bothering me. "Are you okay, Link? What did you do?"

"Just some stupid plant. It's been bothering me all day."

"Well, we'll make sure you get better before we…" She noticed a bunch of people coming down the street. "Who are those…"

"It's them! It's the kids!"

"They killed the monster!"

"They're amazing!"

"I'm Reporter Kate Burgund from Channel 12 News. Tell me, what compelled you to come here?"

I was speechless. I hadn't been interviewed before. Well, never interviewed seriously before. All the other times, I failed on purpose to prevent my adoption. "Well, I heard the rumors, and I just had to check it out. I mean, it took Laurel here, and I couldn't let that happen."

Laurel snatched the microphone and started spieling. "I wanted to go because I lost a… umm… a family heirloom inside. Link here tried to stop me, but I wouldn't listen. I bravely went forward. Before I walked forward twenty feet, a slimy vine grabbed my leg and carried me away!" The crowd gasped. "I was dragged away, until I found myself face to face with some… mutated… abomination… It slowly drained the life out of me, until I was cut free by Link right here, and then he killed the thing, and saved me!" The crowd cheered and Laurel gave the mic back. I chuckled to myself. She should've been an actress.

"There you have it, a classic tale of a damsel in distress and a hero there to save her. Now, in other news…"

We started walking back as I collapsed. I guess losing all that blood from that bite did a number on me. I felt myself being lifted as I drifted out of consciousness.

When I finally came back into consciousness, I was in a hospital bed. My leg was in a bandage and Laurel was sitting right by my side with a bouquet of flowers. "Huh, Laurel?" I asked her. "Where am I?"

"This is a hospital. You fell unconscious from losing blood. The doctors are amazed at how fast you've recovered."

"Well, I guess it's because of that Hylian thing."

"Link, listen. When they learned that we were orphans, they wouldn't stop trying to adopt us."

I was aflutter. "Really? But, we're so old… almost adults."

Laurel shrugged. "They're so excited to have the town hero in their homes. I guess age doesn't matter…"

"Something's upsetting you." I noted.

"Well, I think it's fabulous that you're getting this attention, and that I can tag along, too. I mean, I've been dreaming of this moment since I was a kid, and well…"

"It's not like how you dreamed it would be."

"I feel something calling me, like something still needs done. How can I settle down with this feeling nagging at my very soul?"

I smiled, "Your words are very artistic…"

Laurel faintly blushed and started talking again. "Link, just… I don't know what to do."

"Laurel, do you still have the gem?" She nodded and pulled it out of her jacket. It was glowing with a powerful green light. I took it from her hand and placed it in the compass. The compass glowed brighter and the needle spun around again until it stopped abruptly. The needle was pointing outside, away from the town.

"Link, I just want to tell you that I'm going to go. I've got to finish what we've started. She tried to take the compass, but I put my hand over her hand and replied, "No. I won't let you leave. This time, we'll go together." Laurel hugged me and I said, "When my leg finishes healing, we'll sneak out tomorrow night. Alright?" Laurel nodded, and I watched her leave the room. As I lay there, I was thinking about what I was doing. I had found two of the gems, which left only one left to find. I almost killed myself trying to get this one. Who knows what could be waiting ahead?

The next day, I was ready to move on. It had started to snow earlier, and now the flakes were starting to cover the ground. Laurel was wearing her jacket, while I was still wearing the tunic I had acquired. It did very well at keeping me warm. At sunset we finally left town. I looked back, knowing that I probably wouldn't come back for a while. "Link, hurry up. The wind is starting to pick up!" I started jogging to Laurel's side, and we were walking across white hills dotted with bare trees. It felt like we were walking for hours. Laurel started falling behind as her jacket was starting to fail. Laurel was shivering as we made it to some rocks. I decided to take shelter as Laurel sat on some of the rocks.

"Hey, Link. These rocks are warm. It's really refreshing." Laurel was starting to enjoy the warmth of the rock formation. I guess it saved me the trouble of making a fire. I decided that we should rest here for the night.

That night, I had a dream. It was dark and raining. I was running away from some castle when I ran into a man with a black, armored horse while the rider was in dark armor. He had a sinister laugh as he said, "Hero of Time. You thought you could hide your princess from me. It was very clever to hide in a separate dimension. But even now, my power is growing, and I have found your hiding place. Soon, I will rat you out like the mice that you are. And there is nothing you can do to stop me." He laughed more powerfully as my vision was growing darker. I leaped awake as Laurel was starting to wake up.

"Laurel, we need to get out of here."

Laurel rose slowly, still groggy from sleep. "Why do we need to leave?"

Not willing to share my dream, I replied, "We just do." I pulled out my compass, and the needle was pointing to the rock formation. I tapped the compass and turned slowly. The needle was still pointing to the rock formation. "That can't be right…"

Laurel was fully awake now. "What can't be right?" She asked.

"The compass. It's pointing to these rocks."

Laurel started pulling away some rocks. "Well, then that last gem must be here somewhere!" I was about to stop her when she revealed a tunnel small enough for the two of us to crawl through.

"Great job, Laurel." I said. Laurel stooped down to crawl but I stopped her. "You'd better let me go down first. We don't know what's down there." Laurel nodded and stepped back. I crouched down and crawled through the hole. It was a really tight fit, and it seemed to go on for a long time. When the tunnel finally ended, I was greeted to a deep cavern with lava spurting at the bottom. The view down was littered with rope bridges and rock formations, and bat-enemies flying around. The lava was erupting in lava spouts nearly everywhere I looked.

Laurel came out of the tunnel soon after and said to me, "Hey Link, what 'cha looking at? She saw the treacherous landscape and she was as speechless as I was. I looked over at her, and she was breathing with more urgency. I could practically feel her heart stop as she was looking around. When she regained the ability to speak, she half-whispered, "Oh, my, god, we're going to die here…"


	9. Chapter 9: Molten Shrine

"This is it, end of the line! We're dead! I mean, just look at this! It has a fiery death written all over this place! How are we supposed to get through this in one piece?" Laurel was pacing back and forth panicking the entire time.

"Don't panic, Laurel…"

Laurel snapped back, "Don't panic? This is the perfect time to panic! Aren't you at least afraid of the burning lake of lava?"

"Well," To be completely honest, I wasn't comfortable with this heat. My tunic wasn't properly equipped. "I am afraid, but I know that I have a job to do." That calmed her down a little bit, but she was still floundering like a chicken without a head. "Laurel, don't you remember what heroes do? They risk their own lives for the good will of others, and can take on anything in their way!"

Laurel was red in the face, but not from heat or embarrassment. "I was the one who told you that! Besides, you're the hero! I'm just the damsel waiting to be rescued! And since I don't need rescuing here, I'm off the clock." Laurel sat down on a nearby rock and crossed her legs. "So, if you don't mind, I'll wait outside."

I called back, "It's either out into the blizzard or in here with me."

Laurel sighed, and crawled back to me. "Fine, but just because I don't do so well in the cold." She started sulking beside me up to a rickety rope bridge over the lava. "There's always a rickety rope bridge in dangerous places like this! You'd think that they'd take better care of their bridges in dangerous conditions!" Laurel complained.

"Well, I'm guessing that people don't regularly come down here to fix the bridges here…" I paused to look at the bridge again. "Well, ladies first."

Laurel yelled, "What? What happened to 'we don't know what's here, so I'll go first?'"

I shrugged, "Well, we know what's here now, so you go first." Before she could react, I replied, "Don't worry. I'll be right behind you this whole time. Just don't look down." The two of us walked slowly across the rocking rope bridge. I noticed the geysers of lava that were spurting out everywhere. Then one flew almost right next to us. The heat from it was intense, and it was shaking the bridge. As the geyser went down, Laurel screamed, "Link! I'm looking down! It's not a very pretty sight!" I took Laurel's hand and dragged her across the bridge and set her on a rock. "What did you do that for?" She yelled angrily.

"I couldn't let you screw that up. You know in the movies when someone panics over a bridge, at least one of them falls into the deadly pit below. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be going forward."

"Fine, I'm going back." As soon as Laurel took the first step, a lava geyser split the bridge in half.

"I guess that ends that." I stated as I entered the room. Laurel quickly followed suit.

The room that I entered had a river of lava flowing through the center. Laurel expressed my current feelings. "It's so hot in here! My skin feels like it's melting away!" I wiped off some sweat from my brow and made my way to some large blue pots marked with a tear drop. Sure enough, there was water in there. Laurel took one and dumped it on herself. "That didn't help at all! I'm still too hot! I don't get it, that water was ice cold in the pot, but out here it was still hot!" I thought for a moment, and I got an idea. I picked up the pot and threw it in the lava. As soon as it entered, there was a harsh cloud of steam, and a rock island floated to the top. "Link! What are you doing?"

I jumped to the rock island, and quickly leaped to the other side. "Burning the soles off my foot!" I yelled back. Seriously, don't ever walk on freshly hardened rock without proper protection. It burnt like hell. Now that I was on the other side, I saw more water pots, and a treasure chest! I opened it, and I found a parchment with a map of the cave. I threw another pot into the lava and I nimbly leapt across again.

As we left the room, Laurel asked to see what I found. I showed her the map. There was an area above and two floors below. This was much bigger than the misty cave and the abandoned water plant from earlier. Laurel turned my attention to a raised drawbridge. "Hey, Link," I turned, "can you use your boomerang on those ropes?" I brought it out and I tossed it at the ropes. It cut through them easily, and the drawbridge crashed down with an earth-shaking thud. I guided Laurel across, where she noticed a decoration on the wall. "Link, that eye, it looks like it's staring at me. It almost looks real!"

"Just ignore it, Laurel, and let's move on." I said. I pushed up the next door and we were greeted by a hand full of those monsters from earlier. Laurel backed behind me as I drew my sword. One of the monsters drew a sharpened club and I met it with my shield. I then swiped its club away and stabbed it in the chest. As it crumbled into dust, two more jumped to attack. I blocked the first with my shield, but the second hit my shoulder. I used a spin attack and knocked the two of them away. The one that had hit me had a wooden shield. "A wooden shield? Well, first thing, your shield looks weak, like it could shatter with a strong attack!" I leapt forward and slashed his shield into two splintery pieces. I used another spin attack to finish him. The third monster came back so I used another spin attack. I was starting to get dizzy with that, but there were no more monsters.

Laurel came by and asked, "What was the second thing?"

I shrugged. "Eh, they're dead now, so I don't have to come up with one."

Laurel started climbing a nearby ladder, and I decided to look around. There was one door underneath, but it was blocked by iron bars and there seemed to be no way to open it. I climbed the ladder after Laurel to a wooden catwalk. There were two doors with a raised stone area that looked like something went there. One of the doors were locked. Laurel was eerily staring across the room. "Link, there's another eye… I think we're being watched…"

"Come on, Laurel, let's go." I dragged her to another door. I pushed the stone slab up and Laurel and I went through. As soon as we walked through, iron bars came down on the door. I decided to look around. This room had a rickety rope bridge with lava on both sides.

"No. No, no, no, no, no! There's no way you can possibly make me cross this rickety rope bridge this time!"

"Fine, I'll cross alone this time. Just stay here." I carefully walked across the rope bridge to the other side. On this side were two unlit torches. I was wondering how I could light them when I remembered back to the lantern that I had got in the misty cave. I remember that it ran out of fuel, but… I went ahead and lit the lantern, and it lit ablaze. I lit the torches and a light shined and turned into a chest. I looked inside and I saw a compass. I walked carefully across the rope bridge and back to Laurel. The compass embedded itself in the map and revealed the locations of items. Laurel took note of the skull icon that was on the first floor. "Is that where whatever's watching us is?"

I dissuaded her, "Laurel, there's no one watching us."

"Then what are the eyes there for?"

"They're for something later. Now, we've got to figure out how to get out of here."

Laurel looked at the map. "Well, we're here," pointing to a spot on the map. "There should be an area below us we can go."

I looked below the rope bridge. "There's a chest down there."

Laurel looked too. "I see, but how are we supposed to get down there?" There wasn't a ladder, and the door back there was barred. After that, I did the only thing left. I drew my sword and cut the ropes off the bridge. "Link! What are you doing?"

"I'm making a ladder to get down!" I yelled back as cut the rest of the rope bridge. The bridge fell to the ground. "See? It worked!" I climbed down the makeshift ladder, and I opened the chest. "It's a key!"

"Great! Now, how do I get down?"

I outstretched my hands. "Jump! I'll catch you."

Laurel backed up. "No, it's too high! I can't!"

"Laurel, just come down! It's perfectly fine!" Laurel closed her eyes and fell into my arms. "See? That wasn't so bad…" Laurel held onto me as I walked back to the door. Laurel jumped down and I opened the heavy stone slab. As we both walked through, iron bars fell across the door. "I guess we're not going back there." We climbed back to the wooden catwalk. I unlocked the door with the key and the iron locks fell off the door. I opened it and we walked in. Again, iron bars blocked our escape again. I walked forward a little bit. Laurel started tip-toeing forward, but I motioned her to stay back. There were five square platforms in the lava. I jumped across to the middle platform. There was something wrong about this, everything about this screamed 'ambush.' When I looked up, there was a duo of lizardmen that dropped from the ceiling and drew their own swords.

Laurel screamed bloody murder, yelling, "Link! Raptors!"


	10. Chapter 10: Magma Matters

I held up my shield while I waited for an attack. The raptor-thing swung its sword willy-nilly at my shield, which blocked every one. After it attacked my shield again, I attacked myself and it staggered back. It leaped to the other side of the room as the other raptor came and attacked me. I parried its blade, and tried to attack it. My blade cut through air. I felt a blade slash into my back, and it caught me off guard. I attacked it back and it fell backwards. As it got up, it jumped back to its partner as the first one took its place. I blocked its first blow with my shield and I slashed it more times. This time, I paid attention to it, as it leaped over my head, and I used a powerful spin attack which finished it off. I jumped across the islands and attacked the other raptor-thing as I jumped. It fell backwards into the lava. I turned my back as I sheathed my sword. After the raptor's deaths, a brilliant light shined and became a large treasure chest. Laurel carefully jumped from island to island to see the chest. The treasure chest was large and reinforced with iron bars.

"Are you okay, Link?" Laurel said as she felt the scar on my back, which was rapidly healing.

"I'm fine," I consoled her. "Now, let's open this chest." As I opened it, a bright light shone, and I pulled out an old looking shortbow with a small quiver filled with arrows.

"It's a bow. It looks so old and used. Does it still work?" Laurel asked.

I pulled out an arrow and notched it on my bow. I pulled the bow string back and let go. The arrow went in the wall with a soft thud. "Yep, it still works. Works like a charm." I looked back at the door. Iron bars were still blocking our exit. "Now how do we get out of here?" Laurel was once again staring across the room. "What are you looking at?" I asked her.

"There's another one of those eyes, on that wall." She pointed to another eye decoration. "I swear it looks like it's watching me!"

I shrugged and notched another arrow. If this was like the games, then maybe… I fired the arrow at the eye decoration. As it hit the decoration, the eye closed. Laurel jumped, as the iron bars retreated. "Hey, the door's open now!" she jumped to the door as I followed her. She looked to the other eye decoration. "Hey, shoot that one, too!"

"Already on it." I notched another arrow, and fired at the eye. It closed like the other one, and a light turned to a small chest. Laurel kicked it, and stubbed her toes. "Ow! I thought that would work!" I walked over and tapped it lighter with my foot and it opened to reveal a key. "How come you can do that?"

I shrugged and walked back through the door as Laurel followed suit. Laurel noticed the eye decoration again and I fired another arrow at it. Another chest appeared. "What's inside this one?"

I opened it and took out a bundle of arrows. "Just arrows? What kind of treasure is that?"

I ignored her and put the arrows in the quiver and looked across the room. There was a raised metal drawbridge over a chasm of lava. "I don't think I could use my boomerang for that one. There are chains up there instead of rope."

Laurel looked at the drawbridge across from us. "Maybe you can break the thing the chains are being held."

"Hmm?" I didn't follow.

"Well, you see the top of the drawbridge? The chains are on top of some wooden knob that's keeping the drawbridge from falling. Just shoot the thing in half and the bridge will come crashing down!" Laurel said with accompanying hand gestures.

I thought about it for a moment. Testing her theory, I notched another arrow and aimed for the wooden plank. I fired, and the arrow split the wood in half. The chains fell off and the bridge fell with a mighty thud. "Well, that worked." Laurel and I walked across the metal drawbridge to the other side. There was a large clearing with another metal drawbridge and a gazebo-like metal thing to the left and a locked door to the right. I walked over to the locked door, but Laurel ran the other way to the drawbridge. "It's not going to work, Laurel, the bridge is on this side. I'd need to be on the other side to shoot the support down."

"Well… I'll… make… it… work!" Laurel said as she pushed it. "Okay, I give up."

"Good, now follow me." Laurel ran behind me as I opened the locked door. In front of us was another locked door.

"You got another key?" Laurel asked. I shook my head. "Darn. Well, let's see what's at the end of this corridor." Laurel dashed ahead while I followed slowly. I saw a door at the side and I went through. In this room was a rickety rope bridge to a treasure chest. I walked across slowly and steadily. I stepped across a hole in the bridge and opened the chest. Inside was another small key. I nimbly ran back across and opened the door. As soon as I went back, Laurel yelled, "Link! Why'd you leave me out here?"

I showed her the key and said, "I found the key to the door."

"Well, that's great, but you shouldn't have left me like that! What if I got lost? What if another one of those raptors got me?"Laurel said.

"Well, what was down there?" I asked her.

"Oh." Laurel motioned to follow her. We ended up in a balcony carved from the cliff face. Out there was a metal plate. "Can you do something about that?"

I took my boomerang and threw it at the ropes holding it up. The metal plate fell, revealing another eye decoration. I caught my boomerang and fired an arrow at the eye. The eye closed, but nothing happened. I shrugged and started walking back. Laurel followed behind me. "Now, we can open the door here." I opened the locked door as Laurel walked through. After I walked in, bars covered the door again. "Great," I said as I drew my sword. "That can only mean…"

Laurel screamed again, "More raptors!"

I turned around. Two more raptor-things fell from a lava waterfall and landed on two more islands. I jumped to another island and started attacking the first one. Now that I knew its tricks, fighting these guys was easy. As the first one disintegrated into purple dust, Laurel screamed again, "Link! Help!" One of the raptors had cornered him while she was curled up in the corner.

"Hey! Get away from her!" I threw the first thing that I grabbed which happened to be my boomerang. It hit the raptor in the head and it stopped and looked dazed. As I caught it, I said aloud, "Huh, so it stuns these guys, too!" Laurel went into action and gave the raptor a mighty push, and retreated into the corner. The raptor lost its balance and fell into the lava. Laurel just froze as she watched her handiwork. After it died, an ornate chest appeared from thin air. After an awkward silence, I said, "Nice work." Laurel slowly nodded.


	11. Chapter 11: Avatar of Power

"Link? Are you going to open the chest?" Laurel asked.

"Huh? Oh right." Laurel jumped over to the ornate chest and we opened it together. Inside was a big key. At the head there was a sinister red gem, and it had red lights traveling down the sides. "That's a big key." Laurel stated the obvious. "How are we supposed to carry this?"

"I'll take care of it. Let's just go." We left the room and went back to the area with the drawbridge.

"Hey, Link, was this here when we got here the first time?" There was a gazebo-like structure over the lava.

"I don't remember this being here. We can't go anywhere else, so maybe there's a clue here." The two of us searched the entire area, and Laurel finally said, "I don't see anything else here."

I examined the gazebo, and I felt a spike in temperature below me. There was a lava geyser underneath the gazebo. I suddenly got an idea. "Laurel, you might want to step back."

"You're not going to do something stupid, are you?"

"You might not like this, then." I stood in the middle of the gazebo, drew my sword, and did a spin attack. All three of the ropes holding the floor up cut, and I was falling into the lava below. I braced myself for the impact, then I opened my eyes as I saw another door on the rock face. My hunch was right! Before I could feel my surroundings, the lava geyser started going back up. The stone floor went shooting back up to where the gazebo was. At the top, I shouted, "Laurel, get on?"

"Huh?" Before she could react, I grabbed her hand and dragged her onto the stone floor. As we fell, I shielded her as she screamed the entire way down. I jumped off with Laurel onto the stone ledge.

"Laurel, you okay?"

She was quiet for a while, and then she exploded. "You idiot!" She furiously pounded my shoulder. "You scared me half to death! I thought I had lost you! Don't do something like that ever again!"

I pushed her off me, and I said, "Look, we couldn't come up with anything else! We're almost done! I opened the door, and motioned to her, "Ladies first." Laurel scowled at me and walked through. I followed her, and the door shut, and bars came over the doors.

"It's a trap!" Laurel said. There were a handful of monsters in this room. I pulled out my bow, and started aiming for the monsters. The ones that were coming right for us went down easily. The ones far away I aimed carefully. I could tell we were nearly finished with this dungeon. It felt like they were running out of ideas. The bars on both doors lifted up. "That was easy." Laurel said.

The next door opened right into a sea of lava. I could feel my feet burning up, and no doubt, Laurel was feeling the same way. I saw more of the water pots to my right, and a lava geyser going up to another ledge. "Laurel, follow me." I grabbed a water pot and jumped from rock to rock where I saw the lava geyser. I threw the pot in the lava, and the lava hardened into rock. I carried Laurel in my arms and jumped onto the hardened rock. My feet felt like they were roasting as the geyser rocketed up to the ledge. Laurel jumped out of my arms and I opened the door for the two of us. Inside was a wall of blocks.

"This doesn't look fun."

"Well, maybe you should pull out the middle row. There's probably something back there." I paused, then I followed Laurel's advice. I pulled the middle block tower until it fell, but there was nothing on top.

"Maybe I should pull each of the other towers down as well." I pulled them down, but still nothing. I pulled the blocks some more and climbed on top and then I pulled more blocks down. Then I climbed on top and pushed the top block aside. Behind it was a staircase going up. "Laurel, get up here!" Laurel slowly climbed up the block tower. I pulled her up to the top. We went up the stairs and we saw the drawbridge from before at the top. I shot the pole that was holding the chains up, but the bridge was also held up with ropes. I grabbed my boomerang and slashed apart the ropes. The bridge came crashing down. "Now we can go back to the other areas easily."

Laurel was focused on the huge door locked with chains and a huge lock that looked like an eye. "Whatever was watching us is in here."

"I'm telling you, nothing is watching us."

Changing the subject, Laurel asked, "Do you still have that key?"

I dragged it out of my pack. "Yeah, I got it right here." I placed it in the lock and it and the chains fell to the ground. The two of us pushed open the door. The room was circular and surrounded by a ring of lava. In front of us was a statue head. Suddenly, the door slammed shut, and we heard a booming voice.

"Impressive, just impressive. Both of you. I've been watching your progress."

"Told ya. I knew someone was watching us through those eyes." Laurel bragged.

"Fine, you want to say 'I told you so?'"

"Yeah. I. Told. You. So."

"Fine, there. You got me."

"Stop ignoring me! Now, as I said, I am…"

"I'm calling you Guard'in." I interrupted.

"What?"

"That's a stupid name, Link."

"Sorry, it was a pun I couldn't resist."

"Stop it! I am the Avatar of Power! If you truly believe you are the chosen hero, you have me to test you! Show your power to me!" Guard'in emerged from the wall, and had two hands follow. It all seemed familiar.

"Link! There are eyes on its hands, shoot there!"

I pulled out my bow. The hands were trying to slam me into the ground. As soon as I got a clear shot, I fired at the hand's eye. It fell to the ground. There was a red gem on its back, so I took the liberty to whack the heck out of it with my sword. I couldn't knock the gem completely off. The other hand started whacking me, and I shot its eye. It fell, and I got a good shot at its eye. I stabbed the gem and it shattered into a million pieces. The hand then exploded.

"Well played hero, but can you dodge this?" The other hand grabbed me and threw me against the ground. I rolled out of the way before it tried to smash me. I leapt up and slashed the hand's gem, and it fell apart. The hand exploded. "Impressive. Time to turn up the heat!" Guard'in blew a stream of fire. I ran out of the way.

"Tsk." Guard'in said. "I guess I'll have to aim for someone less dodgy." It turned toward Laurel and started to breathe fire. I quickly ran in front of her and pulled out my shield. I closed my eyes and braced myself. The next sensation was a burning one. My shield caught on fire!

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" I shook my shield arm and threw it down. I tried stomping it out, but I couldn't save it. "Are you okay, Laurel?"

"I'm fine. Are you?"

"Yeah."

"Shoot out its eyes. That should take care of it."

"On it." I pulled out my bow, and I shot its eye while it was gloating.

"Ow, you prick! Let's see how you like this!" Guard'in slammed its head down, and both Laurel and I dove out of the way. I quickly notched an arrow, and shot out its other eye. Guard'in fell down, and its mouth revealed a huge red gem. I tried attacking it, but my sword only bounced off.

"Link!" Laurel pointed out a convenient bomb flower in the middle of the arena.

"Was that there a moment ago?"

"Does it matter? Blow it up!" I ripped out the bomb flower and threw it into its mouth. The gem shattered. Guard'in glowed, and a gentler voice said. "O chosen heroes, you have passed your ordeal. Walk into the light, and accept your destiny!" The statue head went back into the wall, and a light shined. I took Laurel's hand and we both walked into the light.


	12. Chapter 12: The Compass Reborn

Inside, I found myself in another gazebo, but this time, it was crafted from obsidian and volcanic glass. Lying on her side was a woman whose dress seemed to be made of fire itself. "Hello, young hero. I am Din, goddess of power. I have to say, I just love how you handled my little test. See, I love heroes like you. They're strong, and powerful, and brave. See, out of the chosen trio, you were the only one who could actually keep the entire Triforce in balance for a while." Din sighed. "I only wish my bearer as much wisdom and courage as you and the girl. So here, take my ruby. With it, the Compass of Secrets will finally be restored. Let the compass steer you to the land of origin!" Then everything faded in embers.

When I woke up, I was next to Laurel, outside Din's molten shrine. The blizzard stopped, and there wasn't a sign that it ever happened. "Link? Are you okay? Do you have it?"

I pulled out the compass and Din's Ruby. As I placed the gem in the last slot, the Compass of Secrets shined, parts of it started turning gold. As the needle stopped, it was pointing and shining gold. The compass had finally been awoken.

"We've got to follow that! We've just got to!" Laurel dragged me while I was holding onto the compass. "Come on, let's go!" I ran off after her. We kept walking for the longest amount of time. Laurel asked wearily, "Are we there yet?"

"No." I replied just as weary.

"Well, are we even close? Are we almost somewhere?"

I looked at my map. "No, we're still in the middle of nowhere."

"That's it. We're going to need some wheels if we're going to get somewhere."

"Laurel, we can't just hitchhike."

"I know that, you never know what kind of psycho might pick you up! I'm talking about a bus."

I still had a little bit of money, and I had a twenty dollar bill in my wallet for emergencies. "I guess we could take a bus, but how will we know when to get off?"

"We'll just look at the compass, and when it turns off the road, we'll get off." I nodded in agreement, but we still had to keep walking for now. We followed a road and continued following the compass.

After many hours of walking, we finally found a bus station. All that was left was to wait for a bus. Laurel was staring at the compass intently. "What do you think we'll find where this compass points?"

"I don't know." I said. "They said that we'd find the land of origin."

"Hmm. Where are we now?"

I looked at my map again. "We're somewhere in East Pennsylvania."

"We walked that far? I bet they've forgot all about us back at the orphanage by now."

To be honest, I hadn't thought about the orphanage these days. I wondered what would've happened if we hadn't ran away that night.

"…but just look at us now!" Laurel continued. "I mean, you're a legendary hero, and I've got this feeling that I'm going to have an important role, too. And now, we've got this thing put back together! Things are finally looking up for us!" I still had things on my mind. "Come on Link, you're a great hero. Don't let having no shield get you down!"

"Well, it wasn't until you just said that…" Laurel had a sheepish look on her face as I said that. "It just… what does it mean by the land of origin? Will we go to Hyrule? I mean, I can't see that happening, even if things are like that are the norm now."

"You're thinking too much, Link. Just follow your instincts! I'm sure you'll know what to do, no matter what!" Just after that, a bus came, Laurel tossed me the Compass of Secrets, and I caught it. "Come on, don't be left behind!" I got a few funny looks as I stepped on the bus, as I paid the fare. Laurel saved me a seat, and I sat down next to her. I kept my gaze on the Compass of Secrets.

We were on the bus for the remainder of the day. Laurel was fast asleep while I was busy sketching the monsters I had come across. I also took the time to write their weaknesses and other important info. I felt that I had captured the likeness of Slugdew, and Guard'in nearly perfectly. There were still several spots blank. I felt that I would eventually fill them all. At that moment, Laurel decided to rest her head on my lap. I couldn't help but admire how adorable and peaceful she looked sleeping. Somehow, I couldn't shake having romantic feeling toward her at that moment. I mean, we've known each other since we were in pre-school. We've been friends forever. Of course, being stood up several times gave us something in common. But, I didn't think that made me her girlfriend, she was more like a sister. I was feeling tired, so I decided to fall asleep, too.

The next morning, I woke up still in the bus. I took out the compass, and saw that the needle was pointing behind us. I pulled the emergency brake and woke Laurel up. We quickly got off the bus. "Link, where are we?"

"We're just outside Philadelphia. And the compass is pointing behind us."

"We must have passed it while we were sleeping! Who knows how long…" The compass started spinning and an emblem made up of three triangles arranged in a pyramid flashed. "Oh, well, I guess we're here."

Just then, the emblem started flashing faster as a blinding light emerged from the compass. "Link, what's going on?" Laurel creeped closer to me.

I held onto her tightly with one hand and held the compass with the other. "I think we've found a way into the land of origin!" After that, the world faded into white.


	13. Chapter 13: The Reveal

I woke up in a field, with Laurel to my side and the Compass of Secrets still in my hand. It was no longer flashing, and it was pointing north like all good compasses should. Laurel woke up and gasped. "Link, what's that?" She said pointing to a huge walled town, and a towering castle behind it. Written on an arch above the drawbridge into town, was written, "Hyrule Castle Town." I read them to Laurel. "How did you read those? That's not English…"

"I don't know, the words just made sense in my head. You try it."

Laurel focused on the arch, and said, "Yeah, I can see it, too." She started walking to the town.

"Laurel, where do you think you're going?"

"Come on, Link. That compass took us here for a reason, and I'm going to find out why. You're included in this, too! We've got to go!" Laurel dragged me across the drawbridge and into the town. As we both entered the town, we saw something that seemed like it was ripped from a storybook. There were hundreds of people minding their own business, walking down the streets. As Laurel and I started down the main street, people started noticing us. I'll admit it: we did look rather strange as a videogame hero and a country girl in the middle of a renaissance fair, metaphorically speaking. When we got to the castle, guards were about to take action. One on a horse came in front of us and asked, "Do you have authorization to be in the city?"

Laurel stammered, "Umm, no?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to come with me." I drew my sword preparing for a fight. "Your friend will have to come, too." I felt myself being pushed, so I caught up with Laurel. We went into the castle and saw a tall man in armor, and a girl standing next to him.

"We have more Hylians entering the city."

"You interrupted me for this? Just send them away, take them to Kakariko!"

Just then, a bell just gonged. The man sighed, "Just take them to the basement until morning." We were then taken down into the prison in the basement. Laurel was slumped over and crying. As for me, I was trying to sleep. It wasn't easy. After a while, I heard a voice.

"Hey. Hey, you. The one with the funny hat." The voice was coming from the girl from before. "Are you an Old Hylian?"

I had no idea what she was talking about. "No, I'm not from here."

She pointed to Laurel. "Is she with you?" I nodded. "I guess you'll have to do." She unlocked the cell. "Get your friend, we've got to hurry."

I shook Laurel awake, "Laurel, we've got to go."

Laurel sniffled. "Hmm?"

"We've got to go."

Laurel stood up and we both followed the girl. "I've got some things to tell you." She directed us down some corridors as she explained everything. "I've been waiting for certain people here who can help me. See, there's a secret room under the castle, but it's sealed with a door. There's no way to open it, but there's writing that says "When a man clothed in green, and a woman bearing the royal crest touch this door, its secrets will be revealed."

Laurel spoke up. "You never said who you were."

She stopped. "I am Princess Annabeth, daughter of King Steve III of the Ascii, and heir to the throne of New Hyrule."

"Wow. I'm Laurel, and he's Link. That's all we got. Nothing else."

"Well, if you're done chatting, we've got to get there before the guards realize you're gone." After a short time of walking, we made it to a decorated wall. "This is the door, now you two only have to touch it."

Laurel touched the wall and then I touched it. The wall lit up and it started sinking into the floor, revealing a staircase going downward. Princess Annabeth walked down the stairs first, and Laurel followed her. I came down last. At the bottom of the staircase, there was a large room with a pedestal in the middle.

"Finally, you have come."

Laurel looked around. "Who was that?" Annabeth shrugged.

A faint image of an old man appeared in front of all of us. "I have been waiting hundreds of years for this day." The three of us were standing speechless. "Oh, I am sorry. Allow me to introduce myself. I am King Daphnes XIV, and I am the King of Hyrule. At least what's left."

Annabeth spoke up. "That's impossible, my father is the king. How can there be two kings?"

The king answered, "Your father is the new king. Your great-grandfather, King Steve the Conqueror came to this land from a different plane, guided by a compass forged by the gods." I thought of the Compass of Secrets that was currently in my side pocket and how it had got to our world in the first place. "It had been stolen from the dark power and led my people out of this world. Now, my spirit lingers here for the true Hylian ruler to arrive." He pointed at Laurel.

"Me? You mean me? You mean that… I'm royalty?" Laurel's gold necklace started glowing. She took it out from underneath her shirt and removed it from her neck.

"That necklace, is it yours?" The king asked.

"Yes. My mother gave it to me. She told me to protect it with my life. I imagine what she was like when I look into it. Whenever I had a rough day, I look at it. It always makes me calm down."

"There's no doubt that the three of you had heard of the sacred power that was left by the goddesses when they created this world…"

"You mean the Triforce?" Princess Annabeth rose her hand as if she were in school. "I know about that, it grants a wish to one who has the virtues of Wisdom, Power, and Courage in perfect balance. And it breaks apart in three pieces to one who doesn't."

"You are very knowledgeable about our legends."

"Yeah, but they're just that. Legends, fairy tales, right?"

The king turned to Laurel. "This necklace is a piece of the sacred power that was passed down generations of the Hyrulian Royal Family, called the Triforce of Wisdom. It was broken into pieces long ago to prevent it from landing in the wrong hands." A gold triangle appeared on the pedestal in front of us. "Now, it is time to reunite the two pieces."

The two pieces seamlessly pieced together and then a blinding light shone from the Triforce. I shielded my eyes from the light. When it died down, Laurel was wearing an amazing dress, and a circlet on her head. "Behold, Princess Zelda, the true ruler of Hyrule!"

Laurel came out of her daydream mode. "What? I can't be Princess Zelda! I can't rule a country!" I pointed to her hand which had the Triforce emblem, with the left triangle glowing brightest. "I… I feel… relaxed. Everything is becoming clear to me. I know everything!" Laurel twirled around. "Is that the power of the Triforce of Wisdom?"

The king turned to me. "Link, you have a task ahead of you. Your piece, the Triforce of Courage, has been split into eight pieces, and scattered across Hyrule. Furthermore, the land of Hyrule has gone into disarray. You must gather the pieces of the Triforce and save the land from destruction."

"Wait a minute." I was not happy about this. "I've got to go through who knows what to get the Triforce, while she gets hers handed to her?"

Laurel replied, "It's a test, to keep the Triforce safe. If you really are the hero, you'll get it. If not, then you'd probably die trying." I was about to object when she interrupted, "Don't worry, Link. I know you'll do fine." She kissed me on the cheek.

Rejuvenated, I said, "Okay, I'll do it."

"First, you must follow the compass back to your own world. You will find something instrumental to the task."

"What will I find there?"

"When you get there, you'll know." The king was starting to fade. "Alas, my time here is up. We are counting on you to set things right." The king then vanished into oblivion. We were silent for a few moments, then Annabeth broke the silence by saying, "Well, we know our missions. Let's get out of here." We left the room by going up the stairs. When we left, we were surrounded by guards. "Princess Annabeth, are you okay?" The man from earlier turned to us. "I don't know what you two thought you would accomplish by taking our princess, but you won't be going anywhere."

"But, they didn't…" Annabeth was protesting.

"That's enough. You can't be down here with the likes of these. You've got to get ready, Chancellor Dragmire will be here any moment!"

"But I don't like him! I don't know why my father trusts him, but…"

"You will give him the respect that your father gives him. Now come with me…"

The man took Annabeth by the hand and the guards took Laurel and me up several flights of stairs and down long corridors and finally thrown in a room as the door was locked. I looked out the window, and I could see all of Castle Town from here. It was raining hard outside. I guess a storm must have started while we were in that room. "I don't know why they decided to lock us in here…" I turned around to see Laurel sitting on a bed.

"I'm sorry, Link."

"Sorry? For what?"

"For running away. If I hadn't run away that night, we wouldn't be in this mess. I never wanted you to come, but for a while, I didn't know what to do. When you came, I felt relieved, but then, everything spiraled out of control."

"Hey, we're still alive, aren't we?" I sat down on the bed next to her. "I mean, if we didn't leave, who knows what could've happened? And we went on a real adventure for the first time in both of our lives! And after this, we'll have plenty more adventures on our way!"

"You're right Link. Everything's going to be alright."

"Now, can you think of a way to get out of here?"

Laurel placed her hands on her chest and breathed deeply. The Triforce on her hand glowed. "Do you still have your bow?"

I took my bow out. "Yeah, I still have all my gear." I twanged the bowstring. I still didn't believe they never took my weapons. What kind of guards were they?

"There's a coil of rope here. It should be long enough. Let me tie it to an arrow." Laurel expertly tied the rope to the arrow and handed it to me. "Now you just have to shoot it into the courtyard and slide down with your sword."

I noticed she left something out of her plan. "What about you? How will you get out?"

"I'm not. I'll have to stay here. This is something you'll just have to do alone. Besides, I'll only be in the way." The castle drawbridge was about to be lowered. "Go! Hurry! You won't get another chance!"

I shot the arrow out the window, and it landed in the courtyard. Laurel tied it to the window, and I took my sword off my back and slid down the rope. I fell with a somersault into the grass. People had noticed me fall, and I wasn't about to stick around to find out. I quickly ran across the drawbridge when I saw someone on the other side. He was in dark armor, and on a black horse. Everything about this guy was bad news. He spoke to me. "You there, boy! Are you playing dress-up? Or do you really see yourself as a hero?" He laughed a horrible laugh.

I drew my sword against him. "I'm not afraid of you."

He laughed again. "You think that pathetic instrument will do anything to me? I'm far more powerful than you can even imagine!" He demonstrated it by forming a ball of pure energy, and throwing it at me. I instinctively tried to bat it away, but it hit me directly. All my muscles were burning, and all I could do was kneel. The man got off his horse and kicked me out of the way. "Pathetic. You may look like the legendary hero, but you are nothing like the hero of legend." I tried limping away and I fell down the ramp from the drawbridge. I saw a huge magic barrier enveloped the castle. I scowled at it, knowing there was nothing I could do about it. I desperately dragged myself down the side streets until I couldn't limp any more. I crawled down the alleyways until I couldn't move anymore. I fell down and closed my eyes. I felt my body being dragged away as I fell in and out of consciousness.


	14. Chapter 14: Life & Times of Hylians

I was in really bad shape. I would drift in and out of consciousness every now and then. From what little I saw, I knew I was in a bed of some sort. After that, I was having very strange hallucinations. There was one when I woke up to a guy with a red hat. "Mario, is that you?"

"Who?" he said.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, I just found you here."

After that, I went unconscious again, as I spouted the Zelda chime.

The next time I woke up, my vision was clearer, but still fuzzy. I could make out a humanoid shape entering the room. "Oh, you're awake!" It said with a feminine voice.

I asked it, "Where am I?"

"This is my inn. Well, mine and my sister's. We call it the Rising Sun inn." The figure sat down next to me. I could definitely tell that this person was a woman. I was about to ask more questions when I felt myself fall unconscious again. "Oh boy, there I go…"

She grunted. "Where's Juni with those supplies?"

I woke up in the bed again. I was feeling much better this time, so I tried getting up. I was stumbling back and forth. I stumbled out the door and down the stairs. In the front room, the woman from earlier was talking to a couple of guards. I wisely kept myself hidden as I listened to their conversation.

"For the last time, I have no idea where the Hylians you're talking about are!"

"Look, we have our witnesses saying that there were two people dragging a body to this location. And judging by your lineage, we believed one would be here. So, for the last time, have you seen this man?" He held up a poster showing me on it.

"And for the last time," she replied, "I haven't seen your person anywhere. Honestly, if he looked like that, he'd be pretty easy to spot."

"Listen, you half-bred wench…"

The first guard held him back. "Listen, we're not asking you to rat out anyone. Just tell us where you think he went."

"I've had enough of this foolishness. Get out."

"But miss…"

"Get out of my inn!"

"Fine then." the soldiers looked at each other. "We'll just take that lodging tax that you owe."

"What? I paid that last week!"

"Well, this is a different one. If you'll just show us to your coffers…"

"I'm not giving you a single rupee! Now get out!" The woman was furious.

"Well, we'll just mark you down as a non-payer. And you, of all people, know what happens to non-payers…"

That shut her up. She ducked behind the desk and retrieved a sack with a rupee symbol on it. The soldiers eagerly fingered through the sack only to be disappointed. "What?" the first soldier had an outburst. "There are only green and blue pieces in here! What kind of sad excuse of an establishment are you running here?"

"A respectable one as soon as two soldiers collect their non-existent tax!"

The first soldier looked like he was about to attack her, and I kept myself from retaliating. The other soldier held him back. "Look, there's some yellow pieces at the bottom."

"Yeah, and look here!" He pulled another rupee from the bottom. "A red piece!" He turned to her. "I'd say fifty rupees will be enough. Thank you for your cooperation." They both left.

"Rrgh, I hate it when they do that!" She slammed her fists into the front desk

By now, I'm sure they're gone. I walk into the lobby and the woman is surprised. "Oh, you're up!" She knocked her rupee sack onto the floor.

"I'll help you pick them up."

"Thank you." She stooped down and helped me put the rupees back in the sack. "I'm just tired of those guys robbing me of my hard earned income." Then, someone opened the door. It was a more portly woman holding several boxes and crates. "I'm back!" she said. She put down the crates and her expression changed. "Anyu, why are you and… that fine man picking up those rupees?"

"Those soldiers came. Now we only have 75 rupees. Lucky for us, they never got my emergency purple piece!" The other woman cringed as the first woman looked behind the desk. "Juni, what happened to the purple piece?"

She paused. She picked up the crates and carried them to an adjacent room. "I'll just take these to the kitchen, because you both must be starving. I know I am!"

"Juni!"

"Okay, the bridge was still out, and those plant men were still livid, so I had to buy our supplies here in Castle Town. You know how everything is overpriced here, and even more so because we're…" The first woman nodded. "Right. Anyways, I had to use the purple piece to pay for the supplies."

"I gave you 60 rupees!"

"Yeah, and even then, it wasn't even enough! I actually had to look outside for extras! You know how people always drop rupees in the grass, right?"

The first woman cradled her head in her hand. "Juni, that was _supposed_ to be for emergencies!"

"This _is _an emergency! We have to look out for ourselves first! Besides, if we don't get any guests soon, it won't matter."

The first woman sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry, but these last few days have been really frustrating, and with all that have been happening, I just don't know what to do anymore."

"No worries. The other woman turned her attention to me. "You never did introduce me to this really nice guy."

She was getting a bit too close for comfort. "I'm Link."

"Link. That's a funny name."

"Sorry," the first woman said. "I don't think we've properly introduced ourselves yet. I'm Anyu, and this is the my twin sister, Juni."

I could tell that they were twins, they both had red hair, the same clothes, the same eyes, but they both had very subtle differences. Anyu was skinny and had more pointed ears, while Juni was more, rounded, in more areas than one… like her ears. They weren't as pointed as Anyu's.

"You don't look too much like twins…"

"Oh, that's because Juni here has no self-control when it comes to food." Anyu added as a whisper, "and boys."

Juni objected. "That's not true! All of this is muscle!" She said as she flexed. "Well, most of it. One of us has to fend off those monsters in Hyrule Field!"

"Well, I don't exactly have time to work out, as I have a business to run!"

I interrupted, "Do you know where my sword is?"

Juni cooed, "Ooh, a swordsman too? Where have you been all my life?"

I hastily replied, "If I told you, you'd never believe me."

Anyu answered, "Your sword is behind the desk."

"Thank you," I looked behind the desk and retrieved my sword. "I have to go now."

"What? You're leaving?" Juni frantically asked. "But, but, but can't you stay for at least another day?"

"No, I can't." I remembered Laurel still in the castle, waiting for me. "I've got some very important things to do, and very little time to do them." I said as I hung my sword across my back.

Anyu protested, "But don't you think you should rest up? I mean, aren't you still sore? Dizzy? Anything?"

To be honest, I was still a little dizzy, but I'll manage. "No, I'm fine. I'm sorry, but I have to go." I walked out the door. I walked past the window when I heard them argue with each other.

"Nice going, Juni. You scared away the first guest we've had for a very long time! When are you going to realize that no guy likes being chased?"

"Me? What about you? You were babying him since you dragged him off the streets!"

"You know that he would've died if we hadn't taken him inside! Plus, those guards were asking around for him!"

Juni was horrified. "So he's a criminal now?"

"No, I think he's a Hylian who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Almost like us. He must have escaped the castle dungeon or something. You know what they would've done to him if he got caught, they'd kill him. Or worse!"

"Yeah, but you can't make every sob story have a happy ending! What about us? The ways things are going, we'll be out of money before the week is over! You think they were brutal to Link? Just wait until they get their hands on us! At best, we'll be separated for the rest of our lives as slaves! At worst, we'll end up just like Mom!"

That broke Anyu, and she was dissolving into tears. "No, wait, no, don't cry. I was… I was just… just blowing off steam, that's all."

Anyu sniffled. "No, you were right. I just don't know what I was thinking. I thought that maybe by doing a good deed, maybe we'd be blessed with something good in return. Now…" Anyu started crying again. "Now I know that doing a good deed, sometimes will just make you look like a fool. A great big… stupid, fool."

After that, I stopped listening. Saving Laurel by traveling to the eight temples of Hyrule and reassembling the Triforce of Courage was my first priority. But, seeing these two like this made me think. If I'm supposed to be a hero to these people, I might as well start acting like one. I walked back into the inn to see them both crying and kneeling on the floor. Then Juni noticed me at the door. "You're back?"

"He's back?"

"Why'd you come back?"

I awkwardly replied, "Well, I heard what you said in the window. I thought that maybe there was some way I could make it up to you."

"You mean you'll give us some money?"

"No, that's not such a good idea. Besides, those guards will just steal them again." The twins' hearts fell. "Instead, I'm going to help you attract guests."

"You mean, we'll finally have guests? Paying guests?"

"Hopefully." The two of them ambushed me with loving hugs. I knew I was doing the right thing helping these two. I was beginning to enjoy their gratitude. Staying another day won't hurt.


	15. Chapter 15: Raising the Sun

"So what do you think we should do first, Link?" Anyu asked me.

I took a quick look around, and said, "We should probably clean up. Make it look presentable."

"I'll get the broom."

"I'll get the mop." I followed the twins into the basement. Anyu grabbed a broom while Juni grabbed a mop and a large can.

"Why don't you give me the broom? You can clean the tables in the kitchen and lobby." Anyu nodded and handed me the broom. I took this time to look around. As I swept the floors in each room, I noticed that each room seemed kind of plain. They could use something to help brighten the room. Also, some of the sheets seemed dusty. As I finished sweeping out every room, Juni came and started mopping. As soon as we were done, Anyu came up to me and asked, "What else should we do?"

"We could get some things to decorate the rooms, like candles, or flowers, or…"

"Okay, we could go together!" Anyu said eagerly. "You didn't say you were from here, did you?" I shook my head. "Okay, so maybe I can show you around!" Anyu called out to Juni. "Juni, we're going out to buy decorations."

Juni called back, "Okay, I'll be washing the sheets."

Anyu turned back to me. "Come on, let's go!" Anyu grabbed a basket and dragged me out the door, and we walked out into the main street. As I looked, I saw a news board with my wanted poster on it. I promptly tore it off the board and crumpled it up. Anyu had taken note of the barrier around the castle. "What happened to the castle?" She looked toward me.

"I don't know. It must've happened while I was out." I lied to her.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about that, so come on, let's get those things." Anyu led me through the Castle Town Market where there were countless open-air stalls selling various things. Several looked interesting. Anyu stopped at one and asked for candles and flowers.

"We have these scented candles if you're planning something romantic."

"Oh, no…" we both said that a little too quickly. Anyu stopped making eye contact with me. "No, we're not planning anything romantic."

"Oh, well, thank you for your business." Anyu placed them in the basket. "Thank you. You're one of the few merchants that don't…

"Hey, whether Hylian or Ascii, money is money. Don't matter who it comes from."

"Thank you." Anyu started walking when she stopped by an ornate fountain in the center of the square. She motioned for me to sit next to her.

"So, Link," she said, "I want to know more about you."

"About me?" I don't like telling other people about myself.

"Yeah, like where are you from? What do you like?"

"Oh, well… I'm from someplace… very far away, yeah. It's almost like Hyrule, but not."

"Oh. Does this place have a name?" she said smugly.

"Um…" How could I say this? "Penn...syl…van…ia…"

"Penn-syl-van-ia? I've never heard of that."

"It's very far away, yeah."

"Well, maybe someday you could show me this place."

"Yeah, maybe…" I was eager to change the subject. "But, enough about me, let's hear about you."

"About me?"

"Yeah, I'm kinda curious. Exactly how did you end up running that little inn all by yourselves? I mean, you don't look a day over 18, but where are…"

"My parents?" I nodded. Anyu looked sullen. "It's not really a subject I like talking about. Our parents, well… they've passed on."

"So you and your sister are…"

"Orphans? Yeah. Our father believed that the Hylians should be ruling, so he joined the rebellion. Sadly, they've all been extinguished and my father was one of the first to be killed. I was only a little girl when that happened. Then, they started sending the Hylians out of Castle Town. Our father was an Ascii, so we still had an alibi, but our mother was Hylian. People stopped coming to our inn when they learned that. They thought we were some sort of mutant children, the way they looked at us. When we stopped getting money, they came for my mom. I remember the two of us eavesdropping them talking. They wanted to sell Juni and me into slavery, but my mom refused. Soon after that, I never saw her again. I hear that they sent her to the desert, where they send the most dangerous criminals." Anyu had a silent tear travel down her face.

"It's okay." I wiped her cheek. "At least you had the pleasure of actually knowing your parents…"

"Hmm? You mean, you're an orphan too? And you didn't know your parents?"

"Well, it's a long story. Let's get these back to the inn." Anyu followed me back to the inn. When we walked in, the place had a lot done to it.

"There you guys are! What took you so long?" Juni asked. "I've already done everything else here! Now it's your turn to help out."

"Okay, Link. What should we do next?"

I thought for a moment. "Is there any competition? I mean, are there any other inns around here?"

"Well, there is one in East Castle Town, but they're really snobby. They don't allow Hylians, or anyone who isn't filthy rich."

"How much are you charging?"

"We're charging 30 rupees per night."

"Well, let's cut it in half."

"15 rupees?"

"Yeah, and we could give free breakfast, too…"

"What are you thinking? We'll lose money faster that way!"

"Well…" My limited knowledge of economics kicked in. "…now, people will want to stay here for more longer. You said that the other inn won't allow common people, right? Well, there will be a whole lot more commoners coming in for a visit. And with all the renovations we made, they'll tell their friends about this place and they'll want to come back! All we need now is to advertise. We should print fliers and post them in the square or something."

"Okay, Juni and I will make the fliers. We can take them to the printer for copies." We sat around the table and I watched as they made a flier. As they finished, a bell tolled as the sky glowed a vibrant orange.

"What's that mean? The bell?" I asked.

"That's signaling to raise the drawbridge." Juni answered. "They raise the drawbridge at sunset to keep monsters and thieves out of the town. It doesn't look like you're going anywhere now."

"And why would I want to leave? You two are too kind to me!" The twins got up to hug me again. Anyu said, "Alright Gina, let's go get this copied."

"Alright, I'll just stay here." I decided to take this opportunity to look around. On the front desk was a flower pot and a picture frame. The picture was a man and a woman with two girls the same age on their laps. Was this what their family was like? The man had rounded ears, just like Juni. The woman had pointed ears, just like Anyu. Anyu had said earlier that their mom was Hylian, while their dad was an Ascii. I decided to look in the room behind the front desk. It was a personal library, with various books on various subjects. On one side were history books, and on the other were cookbooks.

I read through some of the books, but they didn't have things that were too interesting. I decided to look around more of the rooms. It looked like a completely different place now! One door was locked. I decided to pick at the door with my sword and it came open. Inside was two beds next to each other, while there were two different footlockers at the ends. This must be the twins' room. On the nightstand between the two, there was a picture of the twins in front of the inn, and there was also a picture of their family, and a third one showing their parents in the lobby area. The father was in armor while the mother was sitting down, and she looked like she was trying to smuggle a watermelon under her dress. This picture must have been taken a long time ago. Before I could investigate further, the twins came in the front door. "Hey, Link! We're back!" I left the room and relocked it, and went halfway up the stairwell. "Huh, he must be asleep. It is kinda late. Maybe we should head to bed, too." The twins opened their bedroom door and went inside.

I decided to go to my room. I tried to remember which room I woke up in. I eventually retraced my steps to a room on the top floor. As I went to bed, I noticed a smell of vanilla. I loved the smell of vanilla. I realized that it was coming from the lamp. Anyu was with me when we saw the scented candles with the nice merchant. Did she buy that for me? I blew it out, leaving the only light coming from the crescent moon. I hope that doing this wasn't a huge mistake…

When I woke up the next morning, Juni brought up a tray with food on it. "You didn't have to get breakfast for me." I said.

She replied, "Of course I do! You've got to have every bit of strength if you're leaving today. Besides, the free breakfast was your idea!" I didn't argue. There were a few slices of bread with a bowl of honey and a glass of milk. It wasn't the greatest breakfast I've ever had, but it beat the breakfast at the orphanage. I took the tray to the kitchen where the twins were waiting for me.

"Link, we would just like to thank you for what you've done for us. Before you leave, we have some parting gifts for you." Juni took a shield off a coat of arms which I only thought was decorations. "Take this shield, it was our father's. He said that once upon a time, it was used by the Knights of Hyrule." This shield was a metal shield that had the Hyrulian royal seal emblazoned on it. I took the shield and strapped it to my back. It was lighter than it looked. Anyu stepped forward with a brightly colored cloth. "I want you to have this." I unwrapped the cloth which revealed a harmonica. "It belonged to my mother. She always told us that music has a power stronger than any magic. She was the best thing that happened to us. To honor her memory, we want you to have it."

"Why?" I asked. "You've sacrificed so much for me, I should at least pay for the room…"

"That won't be necessary." Juni said. "It's the least we could do. Besides, you're family now. Just come back whenever you like. We'll save your room for you!"

"We could carry you in our cart until you're outside the town. That way, you won't be seen."

"That would work out great!"

"I'll stay here and look after the inn." Anyu waved bye when we walked out the door. We walked behind the inn to a horse-pulled cart. I hopped in the back and ducked down until the Compass of Secrets started glowing again.

"Okay, I think this is close enough. I'm going to Kakariko to see if the bridge is fixed. We'll be seeing you, bye." Juni blew a kiss and rode off. I followed the compass and a blinding shone around me.


	16. Chapter 16: Grove of Secrets

I found myself within a bunch of plants and trees. For a second, I felt that the compass brought me back home. However, this forest didn't feel like it did back home. I couldn't explain it, but it didn't feel the same. I decided to look around for clues. I walked along the path until I could find something out. Turns out, I was actually in California. To be exact, I was in Yosemite National Park. I'll never understand why the compass brought me all the way across the country, but I won't pretend that I understand how magic works. Way too much insanity for me. I looked to the compass for guidance, but it wasn't pointing anywhere special. Just to where the North was, but that's what all compasses should do. I couldn't help but think that if Laurel were still here, she'd point out something obvious that I was missing. After that, I went off on a tangent about Laurel. I mean, why would she choose to leave me alone? Before I could dwell anymore on that, I heard a noise playing. I couldn't tell exactly how far I was off the path. I figured that I couldn't be more lost than I already was, so I followed the noise.

After I walked for who knows how long, I found the noise. It was a kid playing the horn. He was so short and skinny, he looked like a scarecrow. In fact, with the clothes and the hat he was wearing, he probably was a scarecrow. I asked it, "Excuse me, where exactly am I?"

He got up from his stump and he said in a raspy voice, "Oh, this is a secret place. I don't normally see visitors around here. Let's play a game. Let's play 'hide and seek.' You're it. I'll hide. He leaped into the trees and went out of sight. I started running after him. I lost track of him after a while. Then I heard him play his horn. I listened closely for the horn, and I saw that the kid was playing it in the tree.

"I found you. Now tell me exactly why I'm here!"

"Nah, I'm having too much fun with you. Besides, you gotta tag me first. Hee hee!" He blew his horn at me and jumped into the trees again.

"Yeah, that's not going to get old…" I started following the sound of his horn. I found him in the trees again. "You know, if you would stop playing your horn, this would be much harder."

"And if you would actually tag me, you would actually be getting somewhere." He blew his horn at me and jumped away again. He was annoying me so much right now.

"You wanna be tagged so badly? Fine." I pulled out my bow and shot him with an arrow. "There. You've been tagged. Now tell me exactly why I'm here."

The kid pulled the arrow and threw it down in front of me. "Sorry, I'm not ready to call it quits just yet. Keep finding me!" He blew his horn again and jumped away. I followed him into some ruins. He was standing on some rubble blowing his horn. I ran as fast as I can and rammed the pillar he was on. The kid fell off the pillar. "Okay, you've had your fun." I drew my sword. "Now, please tell me where I'm supposed to go, before I get really annoyed."

"Okay, I guess you win. I guess this means you can go into this secret area." He jumped away. "See ya later!"

I stooped down and grabbed the arrow and put it away. I walked into the ruins. It looked like something important was here. In front of me was a closed door and a patch of tile shaped like the Triforce was underneath. For a moment, I was at a loss for what to do. Then, I remembered my days at the orphanage. I pulled out my harmonica and tried playing Zelda's Lullaby. It took me several tries. I had never played the harmonica and I had to play it by ear. After a few hours, I finally got it right. The huge doors in front of me opened to a staircase going up. I slowly climbed the dark staircase going up. When the light came back, I was in a deep patch of forest with beams of sunlight shining through the forest canopy. One right in front of me shined onto a pedestal with a sword.

"No, that's not possible. It couldn't be…" I set down the sword Laurel gave me against the wall as I walked closer to the sword. The sword had a deep blue hilt and on the blade was a marking I didn't recognize. "It is…" I walked up to the pedestal, half-doubtful that this was actually happening. "This is the Master Sword!" I was wondering whether I should try to pull it out. I started tugging on it lightly. I felt the blade slip, and it was coming loose. I pulled it out more, and more, until I pulled it completely out. A white light shined as I finished pulling it out. When it died down, the Master Sword was shining a pure white color. I looked at the sword and raised it to the heavens. I came back to my senses. I didn't know what came over me. It just felt natural to me. I started swinging it around. I was amazed. It felt… perfect. A perfect match! It felt like this sword was made for me! When I finished practicing with the Master Sword, I sheathed it in a scabbard that I had no idea I had. I strapped the scabbard to my back, behind my shield. I picked up my old sword and pulled out the Compass of Secrets.

"Where to now?" I asked it. No response. The needle simply pointed north. "Don't you ignore me…" I said as I walked out of the secret grove.


	17. Chapter 17: Reminiscing

It was a long and lonely bus ride back to Pennsylvania. Well, it wasn't just one bus ride, it was a vast series of bus rides across the country. It really tore a hole in my wallet. During this time between bus rides, I pulled out the Master Sword to take a closer look. At first, I had a hard time believing that this was actually the Master Sword. It was just perfect! It was the perfect extension of myself, as if it was tailor made for me. As I looked at the sword, it occasionally pulsed and I felt myself blank out. It was almost like it recognized me. I know I might have said it before, but this sword was so perfect, it was a miracle. I got several looks at the station, seeing that I had a sword out and looking to get on the bus. I thought it was a very good time to put away my sword and start playing the harmonica. While I was on the bus, I slept, but while I waited for another bus, I played the harmonica. With several hours of practice, I could perfectly play the Sun's Song, Zelda's Lullaby, and the Song of Storms. Naturally, none of them actually did anything. Maybe they would work in Hyrule?

It would be several days before I finally made it back to Pennsylvania. I just had to walk off the main roads to go back to my hometown. It was late at night, and no one was out. The lights weren't even on. I was really tired, so I needed someplace to rest. I was feeling miserable. The only thing that made it worse was that Laurel wasn't here to feel miserable with me. Where could I stay? I saw my old orphanage. I shot down that idea quickly, stating that there was no going back there, now. I ran off into the woods for another half hour and found Laurel's treehouse in the trees.

"I guess that'll have to do." I climbed up the makeshift ladder into the treehouse. I walked up to the desk and I placed the sword Laurel gave me on the desk. "There, just as it should be. Besides, there's no sense in having two swords with me while I have a shield." I was exhausted, so I just fell on the floor and went to sleep.

I was sitting at a table drawing with crayons. It was a crudely drawn picture of a boy giving a girl a flower. I looked up and saw a little girl also drawing with crayons. When my picture was finished, I felt myself getting out behind the table, and walking up to the girl. I didn't have any control over what I was doing. "I made this for you." I heard myself say. Was that really my voice?

The girl gasped. "It's so pretty! What's your name?"

"I'm Ben." I said. "What's yours?"

"Laurel." She said.

"Um, I saw you come in yesterday." I heard myself say. "I thought you were pretty, so I… um… wanted to give you something pretty. I couldn't find a flower, so…"

The girl giggled. "You're funny. I like you. Wanna be friends?"

"Would I?" I said excitedly.

The girl giggled again. "Let's be best friends forever…"

I woke up back in the treehouse laying on the floor. I then realized I was dreaming about Laurel and myself in the past. It felt more like a flashback. "All right, this is getting ridiculous." I said to myself. "I can't be moping about Laurel all the time! This can't turn into one of those obnoxious love stories. I know I miss her so much, but I have to move on. For her sake."

I was about to continue, but I was distracted by a noise. I stopped to listen. The wind was blowing and I could faintly hear music. I thought back to when Laurel first brought me here. She said she heard something when the wind blew. The music was much clearer. It sounded like a song. I was thinking about what to do. I thought of the obvious solution. I pulled out my harmonica and tried to play the song. After I played it once, the rest just came to me. The song was slow, like a waltz. After the song ended, I heard a soft voice whisper, "Remember this song. When the time is right, play the Minuet of Forest." After that, the compass started shining as a ring of light shined in the center of the treehouse. Before I walked though, I saw a crayon drawing of a boy giving a girl a flower. I decided to take it with me. "I don't want it to fly away. Besides, I'll take it to remind me of what I'm fighting for." I walked into the portal.

When the light faded, I found myself in a dense forest. I was about to start exploring when I heard a voice behind me say, "Human! Stay where you are!" I wasn't sure whether or not to turn around. "Face me, human!" I quickly turned around and saw nothing. "Down here!" I looked down to see a small plant-man thing. It pulled out a parchment and read aloud. "By order of the honorable Deku King, you are under arrest for the pollution of the river.

I rolled my eyes. "In case you hadn't noticed, I only got here about five minutes ago. Besides, I didn't pollude anything." I said as I drew the Master Sword. "And even if I did, I wouldn't be stopped by one tiny plant."

"Oh yeah?" It said. "How about a hundred?" After he said that, several more Deku revealed their hiding places in the trees and out of the bushes until I was completely surrounded.

"Oh, well… That's much more intimidating…"


	18. Chapter 18: Deku Madness

The mob started closing in on me. Thinking on my feet, I pulled out my harmonica and frantically said, "Wait. Before you take me in, would you listen to this first?" I started to play the Minuet of Forest. As I played, it was much less stellar than it sounded in the treehouse. When I finished, there was an awkward silence that signaled that this wasn't the place to play it. "Get him." The lead Deku Scrub said. The Deku Scrubs closed in when a smaller Deku Scrub came running between them all.

"Look out! Danger! Danger! There's a horseman coming!" The rest of the Deku scattered. "Run, or be trampled!" I saw this as my opportunity to escape. I just had to time this right… When the horse came close and into view, I jumped onto its back almost unnoticed. We rode past several forested areas until I was sure that the Deku couldn't catch up. I crossed a rope bridge over a huge gorge. Below the bridge was a sickly purple looking waterfall into a river.

"Wow." I was amazed by the view. "Someone really did pollute the river…"

The horse's rider heard me and turned around. It yelled with a squeaky, nasal voice. "What? Who are you? How did you get on my horse?"

I jumped off and explained. "Sorry, but I had to get away somehow. If you hadn't come when you did…"

"I see." The rider said. "Well, we can't talk here. We can talk on the way to the village."

"There's a village all the way out here?"

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"No. I'm from far away."

"Well, you can tell me all about it on the way." The rider motioned his horse to move forward and we walked across the rope bridge. On the other side, he asked me, "What's your name?"

"I'm Link."

"Link? That's an odd name."

"I've been told. What's yours?"

"I'm Holly." The rider extended his hand to me.

"Holly? Isn't that a strange name for…"

"Oh, sorry." The rider took off his helmet to reveal long, curly brown hair.

"You're a girl!" I said, half surprised, and half embarrassed that I should've figured it out sooner. I noted her rounded earlobes and blurted, "And you're Ascii!"

The girl looked visibly annoyed. "Well, what did you expect?"

I felt sheepish. "Well, I just assumed…"

"Right, you assumed. You can't just go jumping to conclusions like that."

"Right. I'm sorry."

"Thank you. Get on. We're almost at our destination, and we'll get there faster on horse." I jumped behind Holly and she spurred her horse forward. In a couple minutes we passed under a gate into a village. "Welcome to Ordon Village!"

There were barely any people, and the crops looked withered and dying. The water was a lighter shade of the purple that I saw at the drawbridge. "Real lively town you've got here."

"Oh, I don't live here."

"You never did tell me what you're doing here."

"Well, I was looking for a colleague of mine."

"Is she…"

"Yes, she's Ascii too."

"What are a couple of Ascii doing all the way in out here?" I asked her.

"Well, Noel, that's her name, by the way, she was studying the plants in this area. She's a botanist, she does stuff like that. We hadn't heard from her in a long time. I was sent to investigate."

"Sent? By who?"

"Well, back in Kakariko Town, we have a resistance force."

"A resistance force? Who could you possibly be resisting?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I shook my head. Holly sighed. "Look, I don't know about your personal opinions, but not all Ascii look down on the Hylians like stray dogs."

"Sorry, but I didn't exactly get a good first impression…"

"In fact," Holly continued, "we believe in exactly the opposite. Hyrule was always in a better shape when ruled by the Hylians. Legends say that they were closest to the gods! The current 'royal family' just has been sitting around in luxury, while the rest of Hyrule rots! Just look at this place! Everyone here is growing weaker, because the water is polluted. Kakariko town is overpopulated, Lake Hylia is slowly drying up, and there are monsters roaming around like they own the place! I had to go all the way around the kingdom because a band of monsters broke the bridge to Castle Town! Hyrule can use more people like us, because no one else will do it."

"Thank you, I understand. Maybe I can help you look for your friend."

After that, an older man came toward us. "You're back! How did you get through the Deku Palace?"

"It wasn't easy. They don't play around."

"Did you see the other villagers?"

"Yes, but there was no sign of her. They think they're responsible for the pollution of the river."

The man sighed, and then he turned to me. "Who is this?"

"This is Link. He says he was being harassed by the Deku when I happened to pass by."

"Well, let's go inside to talk." He let the two of us into his house. Then he took the time to introduce himself. "I'm the mayor of this village. Or at least, what's left of it. The pollution of this river has left us with no water for our crops. We still have drinking water from a separate spring, but it's too far for us to carry enough water for the entire village." He turned back to Holly. "Your friend, she wasn't at the palace?"

"No, and I already looked everywhere. In fact, the only place left is…" Holly gulped. The mayor nodded.

"Is where?" I asked them.

"The Lost Woods. I've heard nothing but bad news from the villagers around here." .Holly explained

"They say that the forest confuses you. If you go in, you're doomed to wander aimlessly until you meet an untimely end."

"I wouldn't touch that place with a ten-foot pole."

"I'll do it."

"You'll do what?"

"I'll go into the Lost Woods." I told her.

"Are you insane?" Holly yelled. "You may never come out alive!"

"Yes, I probably am insane. Besides, you said yourself, no one else will do it." I started walking out the village. The mayor stopped me.

"Do you know where it is?" I shook my head. "It's a short walk outside the village. I sure hope you know what you're doing." I nodded and went out the door.

"Wait!" I stopped to see Holly behind me. "I want you to take this." Holly gave me a sack. "It's a bomb bag. It's standard issue for us in the resistance. You never know when you'll need it."

"Thanks." I placed it on a loop on my belt. "I'll be going now."

"Good luck!" She called out as I left.


	19. Chapter 19: The Lost Woods

Holly was right. The forest wasn't hard to miss. Above the entrance was a wooden gate and a frame that read in Hylian, "The Lost Woods." Plastered all around it were more signs spouting warnings that I had already heard. "Do not enter without directions or a compass!" They said. I opened the gate and walked into the Lost Woods. I don't know what's the big deal was with this place. It looked like every other part of the forest. Besides, I'm just looking for one person. How bad could it be? I paused for a second. Just in case, I drew the Master Sword and carved a line into a nearby tree. That way, I'd know where I've been. I started going down several different pathways. I wandered for what seemed like hours until I saw one of my own markers. I fell to my knees. I was lost.

I sat down for a moment. As I thought to myself, I noticed a buzzing noise in my pouch. I searched around and pulled out the Compass of Secrets. It was shining gold, like the first time I used it. I stood up and started following the compass. It was pointing in different directions as I walked forward. The compass must be showing me the right path through the forest! I carefully followed the directions of the compass, turning each time the compass changed direction. The compass shined brighter, and brighter, until I was face to face with another of the plant monsters from a while back. Instinctively, I swiped at it with my sword. When I looked at it next, there was only half a plant. It fell over at my feet into purple dust. Ahead of me was a village of some sort, overrun by the plant monsters. I stared at the Master Sword, and pulled out my shield. This was an event long overdue.

I ran down into the village and slashed apart the stem of the first plant I came across. The next one had its bud slashed off as it lunged at me. I used my shield to block the lunges of two plants. In an opening, I hacked off both their stems with a spin attack. I leapt after another plant and slashed it in half. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on my leg. I saw a plant was chomping at it. Without another thought, I slashed it apart. I kept slicing plants left and right, and before I knew it, every single plant had withered into purple dust. I stopped to catch my breath. I gazed at the Master Sword. This thing really was as strong as it was said to be! Of course, it wasn't too hard of a battle. As I sheathed the master Sword, I noticed that I was being watched. I drew the Master Sword again as I looked carefully. I could see little eyes peering at me. After a while, a tiny face came out of hiding. I sheathed my sword and tried talking to her. "Hello? Where's everyone else?"

"Did you… save us?" I nodded. "You're not a monster?" I shook my head. As she said that, countless more tiny faces came out, and revealed themselves to be children. They all were dressed in a dingy green, while they murmured amongst themselves.

I spoke up. "Um, can you tell me where I am?"

The crowd quieted down. "This is the Kokiri Village." A boy came walking forward. "It's curious how you found this place, but we're all glad you did."

"Did someone else come this way?

"No, you're the only Hylian that has come this way for a long time." He lit up, as if he just got a great idea. "However, I'd bet that the Great Deku Tree would know.

The children murmured to themselves again. "The Great Deku Tree?"

"Yes, he knows everything about the forest! He should know exactly where your friend is!" The boy took my hand and led me through the village to a small winding path which led to a clearing with a huge tree in the back. The grove was teeming with life, while the tree looked like it had seen better days. The boy's clothes even looked a brighter shade of green. He climbed onto a stump and called out, "Great Deku Tree! This Hylian seeks your great wisdom of the forest."

The tree's eyes lit up and it opened its mouth like a puppet and spoke. "Proceed."

I walked up to the stump and talked to the Great Deku Tree. "I'm looking for someone called Noel. She's a woman who may be studying the plant life in the Lost Woods."

The tree paused. "Alas, my power is fading fast. I cannot locate the one known as Noel. Tell me, hero. Did you notice the infestation of monsters in the village?" I nodded. "I once used my power to protect my children from the dangers of the woods. I have been poisoned by the pollution of the river, and my power is waning."

"Where is the pollution coming from?" I asked it.

"The pollution is coming from the Forest Temple. A place once sacred to the forest, but is now desecrated by an evil power. What I ask of you, is to stop the pollution coming from the Forest Temple."

"How am I supposed to get to the Forest Temple?"

"The forest confuses those that try to enter without a true purpose. Only those with the gift of true seeing, and those with the proper knowledge of the woods can find their way through." I placed my hand over the Compass of Secrets as he said that. "I will tell you exactly how to reach the Forest Temple with the remainder of my power." The Great Deku Tree gave me directions to the Forest Temple which I wrote down. "Sadly, I barely have enough power to continue speaking with you. Please, purify the Forest Temple, and hurry. When the sun fades from the horizon, my power will be exhausted. Then, the forest will never be the same place again." The Great Deku Tree closed its eyes and slept. I started walking back to the village as the kid followed me. "So, exactly who are you?" I asked him.

"My name is Mido, and I'm the leader of the Kokiri."

"What was that about being the tree's children?"

"Can it wait? You've got to hurry to the Forest Temple." When we got back to the village, the plant monsters came back. "Oh no, the Deku Babas are back again!"

I drew my sword and cut my way through the plant monsters. Deku Babas, as I've just been told. I led Mido to the rest of the Kokiri's hiding place. I told them, "I've got to go to the Forest Temple. Until then…" I swung the Master Sword through a Deku Baba that appeared right next to me. "Until then, just try to keep together." I left the village, killing as much Deku Babas as I could. Once I was outside the village, I pulled out the Compass of Secrets, only to see that the compass was pointing behind me. I have a feeling that the Compass of Secrets won't help me much here. I had no choice but to follow the directions the Great Deku Tree gave me. After a long and winding path, I came out to a rope bridge overlooking a huge tree with purple water flowing out of it. I was standing on an insignia shaped like a pinwheel. This has to be the Forest Temple! I slowly crossed the rope bridge so I could take in the scenery. To my left was a huge waterfall flowing into the river. To my right, I could see the river cutting its way through the forest. Behind me, I could see the sun getting lower in the sky. I quickened my pace across the rope bridge as I entered the Forest Temple.


	20. Chapter 20: Forest Temple

The light from outside didn't go too far inside the temple. I brought out my lantern and lit up the room. I was almost immediately greeted with a huge spider web. It wasn't by any ordinary spider. The thread was really thick, like a small rope, or my own bowstring. As I touched, it stuck to my hand fast. I quickly pulled back my hand and it snapped. I guess I should be thankful that the spider that spun it was nowhere to be found. Still, the web was blocking my way, so I drew my sword and cut the web enough times so that I could walk past it. On the other side was the whole temple. The scenery was amazing! The actual temple was built inside the tree on the outside. I walked across a bridge that was above a courtyard below the main part of the temple. In the courtyard were small aqueducts which carried the sickly purple water into small ponds in the courtyard and probably outside the temple. Still, I couldn't stand here and marvel at the architecture. I was on a time limit. I ran across the bridge and sheathed my sword as I opened the door to the temple.

Inside was the main room of the temple, lit by an incredible chandelier. Who knows how long they were lit? At the center of the room displayed the Forest Temple's insignia and purple water flowing down two canals alongside them. I walked down stairs to the center of the room. There was a door on each of the walls. The door in front of me was locked. I hopped over the canal to my right and walked down stairs to the door. I tried opening it but the door wouldn't open all the way for some reason. I had no choice but to go to the left side of the room. The door opened and light shone in my eyes.

The courtyard was covered in rubble and the grass was growing really long. I walked around and discovered that under the bridge was a gate separating the courtyard. So, as I walked back around, I swung my sword, cutting the grass. As I walked around, I saw that there was a balcony on the wall. Maybe I could get up there somehow. I saw that there were lots of vines on the wall. Maybe I could climb up the vines to the balcony! I ran up to the wall and I grabbed the ivy. Before I could start to climb the ivy, huge spiders came crawling out of the ivy, and I let go in shock. I froze in place for a while. I really hate spiders, especially the ones that spin webs. Normally, I wouldn't be scared of the larger spiders, like a tarantula, but these were at least the size of a baseball glove. Lucky for me, I was carrying proper weapons. I pulled out my bow and shot each of the spiders. They all fell off the ivy and their legs curled up as they burst into purple dust. I was kinda relieved to know that these were just monsters, and not true spiders, but it still unnerved me. I grabbed onto the ivy, more wary this time, and I slowly climbed the ivy up to the balcony. My arms were almost immediately tired. I was never a really athletic person. Playing video games will do that to you. Of course, sword fighting monsters turned out to be a really good workout. As I shook my arms, I saw that the balcony was almost completely crumbled. To make matters worse, I saw a chest on the other side, so I was going to have to get over there eventually. I looked at the wall, and I saw that there was a ledge I could grab onto. But will I be able to hold on all the way to the other side? I grabbed onto the ledge and I held on tightly. I slowly shuffled my hands across the ledge. After a few tiring minutes, I made it to the other side. When I dropped down from the ledge, I immediately forgot how tired my arms were as I opened the chest. Inside was only the map of the temple. I looked at it, and I saw that there was a mechanism that opened the gate. Except it was on the other side of the gate, and the door was blocked. I looked at the map, and across the courtyard, and sure enough, there was a blue crystal in the balcony on the other side. Thinking for a moment, I pulled out my bow, and I notched an arrow. I aimed carefully for the crystal and I fired. It hit the crystal with a faint 'tink', and it changed to a yellow color. The gate slowly rumbled and clicked as it opened up.

I jumped down the balcony, but I hurt my legs falling. I've got to be more careful than that! Luckily, it went away after a short time. I walked to the new section of the courtyard, and I was greeted by huge plant monster, or Deku Baba, as I just learned. I drew my sword and shield, and I slashed its stem. When it fell to the ground, instead of turning into purple dust, it lunged at me. I blocked it with my shield, and I slashed its bud in half. It burst into purple dust. As I sheathed my sword, I noticed that this balcony was in worse shape. There wasn't even any ivy to climb up. However, I did notice lots of vines. If I could cut one of them, maybe I could climb up it like a rope. I pulled out my boomerang, and I threw it at a vine. One part of the vine fell to the floor as I caught the boomerang, and put it away. I tugged the vine to see if it would make a decent climbing rope. It didn't break when I tugged at it, so I guess that was a good sign. I jumped up and hung on tightly to the rope. I struggled to carry my own weight. "I guess I'm gonna to have to be in better shape than I already was." I said to myself. I climbed up to the balcony and climbed over the guardrail. The balcony was broken in several places. The part in front of me was covered in rubble. There's no way I'd be able to climb on top of all that rubble. I stopped to think for a while. Then, I remembered, Holly gave me a bomb bag before I left for the woods. I pulled a bomb out of the bag, lit the fuse, and threw it on the rubble. I sure hope this bomb isn't too strong that it blows the balcony apart.

I held up my shield as the bomb exploded. Sure enough, the rubble was cleared. Now the problem was if I could make it across with a running start. I ran as fast as I could and I leapt across. I barely grabbed onto the ledge. There was no solid ground where my feet were, so I kicked and flailed as I struggled to pull myself up the ledge. As I was catching my breath, my blood froze when I saw what was next. A gigantic spider, several times as big as the ones before, crawled down from the roof, and hung by a thread directly in my way. If I jumped to the next platform, it would knock me back down, or…

Anyways, I thought about how I was going to get out of this when I noticed the purple water again. It was flowing down an aqueduct coming from a higher floor in the temple, and flowing out into a pond which happened to be below the spider! Without missing a beat, I threw my boomerang and cut the spider's thread, and it fell into the pond with a splash. Luckily, spiders can't swim. As I jumped to the next platform, I saw it sink to the bottom and burst into purple dust. I climbed the ledge and jumped to the end of the balcony. In this chest was a key. No doubt to the one that was locked before. I jumped back across the balcony, and slid down the vine rope.

I looked behind me, and I saw more rubble that came from the roof. I lit another bomb and I threw it at the rubble. I ran back so I wouldn't get caught in the explosion. The bomb exploded, and behind the rubble was a door. I guess this must have been the door I couldn't access before. I walked back into the main room and walked up the stairs to the locked door. The door unlocked, but the key was stuck. "Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter." The lock fell off the door, and I opened the door. Inside was a spiral staircase. When I closed the door, bats flew in from the windows. They flew around me, while I batted them away with my sword. When they all were killed, a light shone. A bigger chest appeared when the light died down. Inside the chest was a compass. The compass became embedded into the map, and revealed the location of the boss. The boss was in a big room on the fourth floor of the temple. "I probably could've figured that out on my own." I said. "I mean, it's always in the biggest room on the top or the bottom floor." I climbed up the spiral staircase and stopped when I came across the door. The staircase continued up, but it was broken from here to the next floor.

"Figures. No shortcuts for me." I complained as I opened the door. In this room was a long bridge and stairs that went up to the left and to the right. I slowly walked across the bridge to decide where to go next. There were trees growing up the walls, and one formed an arc across the bridge from where I came in. These trees weren't like the abandoned water plant, monstrous and creept, but they felt serene, and peaceful, like they were supposed to be there. Of course, while I was marveling at the scenery, again, I didn't notice the slowly building cracking below my feet. The bridge crumbled down into the ruins below, taking me with it.


	21. Chapter 21: Forgotten Relics

When the dust settled, I climbed off the rubble. I wasn't too banged up, especially for falling off a crumbling bridge. I looked up at where I fell. It doesn't look like there was any way to climb back up. I lit another bomb and blew up what was left of the bridge. At least there would be more room here. I stood back and watched the bomb explode. When the dust settled again, that's when something happened. A skeleton that was buried underneath the rubble started assembling itself and drew a sword and a shield.

"Fine then, I'm not going anywhere." I said as I drew my own sword and shield. I waited as the skeleton waved its sword. We circled around the room, while I went for the first attack. My sword clanged against its shield, and I blocked its attack. Obviously we'll get nowhere from direct attacks. I just have to dodge its attacks, and do a counter attack of my own. I kept blocking the attacks and I jumped back. When it leapt up, I jabbed the Master Sword into its ribcage, and it fell apart.

"That's it? I thought that it would put up a better fight. Whatever, I guess it's because I have to climb out of here somehow." I turned back to the wall. There were some vines hanging down from a tree on the doorframe. I could probably climb those to get to the top. I wasn't eager to start climbing again. I suddenly heard a noise behind me. The skeleton had reassembled itself and started attacking. I quickly brought out my shield and blocked the sword. After that, I attacked again, but it only blocked it with its shield. I remembered to wait this time, and I blocked the skeleton's next attack, and slashed its spine apart. It crumbled to the ground. "This time, I'm going to make sure you stay down!" I lit a bomb and dropped it on the remains. I stood back and watched the bomb explode. Sure enough, there was nothing left of the skeleton.

As that happened, a fence of wood started to move aside, revealing a strong looking chest. I ignored the fact that I didn't notice it earlier, and I opened the chest. Inside was an odd contraption. There was a pointed piece of metal on the end, connected to a chain that wrapped around the invention, and on the end, a metal covering an area where I would grab it. I decided to give it a shot. I felt around in the handhold, and I felt a button where my thumb went. I clicked it with my thumb and a red laser pointer came out and shone on the wall where I pointed it. I let go of the button and the chain went shooting out of the device, and it came back after it hit the wall. I was amazed by this device. I found the Hookshot! I always loved this thing!

I decided to aim it out of the hole I was in currently. It'll save me the trouble of climbing out. I clicked the button and aimed for a tree at the top of the door frame. I let go of the button, and the chain shot out at the tree and stuck fast. I was caught off guard by the speed that it came back, so the hookshot went flying out of my hand. It then fell off the tree and onto the high ledge. I expressed my obvious anger and frustration as I shouted loudly, and facepalmed. "As if it wasn't obvious that I'd have my work cut out for me!" I furiously started climbing up the vines on the wall on the side of the hole. After I vented all my anger into exhaustion, I carefully shimmied over to the broken bridge and reclaimed the hookshot. I grabbed it again and aimed for the other side of the bridge. "Better hold on tightly this time, I really don't want to lose it." I clicked the button, and aimed for the big tree in the wall. I let go of the button, and the chain went flying. As the chain hooked on, the device violently tugged on my arm, and I went flying across the gap, almost instantly, and just as fast, I flew into the tree.

As I got up, I felt relieved that I did it right, but I would now just have to get used to it. I looked to the sides, and there were staircases going up on both sides of the room. The door atop the one on my right was locked, so I went up to the left. In this room was a singular block in a field of grass, and a small pool behind it with the poisoned water. High up on the roof was a vine hanging down from the roof, and on the bottom was something shiny. I looked closely at it, and it was the key. I walked underneath it, and saw that it was too high for me to reach it. I got my boomerang out, and cut the vine holding the key. It fell into the grass, only for the vine to climb down and reattach itself. The key was still dangling to the vine. This time, I stood underneath the vine and cut it with my boomerang. I caught the vine. As I tried to untie the vine and free the key, the vine whipped me, and reattached itself. I looked up and scowled at the hanging vine. I started pushing the block through the grass and stopped directly underneath the vine. When I cut the vine it fell onto the block. I climbed onto the block and untied the vine, and grabbed the key. I threw the vine back onto the grass, and it reattached itself. I left the room and I walked up the other staircase to the other door. I unlocked the door, and the chains fell off. When I opened this door, the room was flooded with the poisoned water.

"I'd better climb out of here." Around this room was a crumbling staircase. "That's my way out!" I started up the stairs and jumped to the next point. More of the Deku Babas sprouted from the roof to stop my progress. Of course, with a throw of my boomerang, they fell into the water, and burst purple dust. I barely made the next jump. As I climbed onto the broken section, I noticed the next section was way too far for me to jump. "It's no problem for my handy new hookshot!" I fired the hookshot at a convienient target with a white target painted on it. I went flying toward the target, and onto the balcony at the top of the room. I ran over to a door at the end of the balcony. Behind the door was a hallway draped in vines. At the end of the hall was a door. I walked down the hall and into the next room.

In this room was a sort of seesaw, with the water flowing down on one end, and flowing out of the room at the other. I walked underneath the seesaw. Apparently, the room snakes around the seesaw in the middle. As I walked around the seesaw, I saw that there were several abandoned machinery in this room. It would be a miracle if they even worked. There was another crystal on the wall. On the side that I was on, I saw something else that caught my eye. It was a red crystal lying on the floor. It looked like a red rupee. Of course, I had nothing to place it in. I saw that abandoned on a table was an old money pouch. Inside were a handful of green rupees. I didn't know whose it was, but it looked like it was here for a very, very long time. Having a small amount of money was better than having none at all.

There was another pathway going behind the seesaw, but I had no way to move it. Maybe that crystal could have something. I grabbed by bow and notched an arrow and aimed for the crystal. I fired the arrow, and hit the crystal with a faint 'tink.' The crystal changed colors, as machinery started banging and clicking. The seesaw was slowly moving to the other side. As the seesaw completely moved to the other side, it revealed an ornate chest. I knew inside would be a big key. My suspicions were right as I opened the chest. As I walked back around the seesaw, I saw that the arch was closed. Luckily, there was a hookshot target behind the seesaw. I aimed for the target and went flying to the roof. Of course, as soon as I hit the roof, I fell back down to the floor. When I landed roughly, I realized that this part of the room was flooding with the poisoned water. Quickly, I shot the crystal again, and the seesaw slowly tilted to the other side. As soon as the seesaw started moving, the water was being drained through a grate in the floor. I saw a pool and a block through the grate. This room must be above the other floor I was in. I then walked out the door back into the hall.

At this point, I was confused. I looked at the map again. "Wasn't there supposed to be another door around here?" I asked myself. I looked at the map and at the hall again. I stood where the door was supposed to be and found only ivy. I pushed aside the ivy, and caught a glimpse of wood. I drew my sword and cut the ivy to reveal the missing door. I opened it, and saw a crumbling spiral staircase. This must be the same staircase I climbed up earlier. I grabbed the hookshot, and grappled to the branches that acted as a railing. Before I knew it, I was at the top of the staircase and at a door. In this room was only as staircase going up. I climbed the staircase carefully, and I came up to a huge door locked by chains and a large lock. I jabbed the big key into the lock and the chains fell. As I opened the door, I braced myself for whatever would lurk inside.


	22. Chapter 22: Ancient Parasitic Plant

At first glance, there was no indication that anything was in this room that was dangerous. The door suddenly shut with a loud thud, and locked itself. Figures. Around the walls of the room were flower beds with several shrubs and flowers in them. Orange light was shining in through a hole in the roof. In this hole, the purple water was flowing down to the floor, and down small canals which led down underneath the flowerbeds. _Wait, orange light? _I thought to myself. _That means it's already sunset. I'm running out of time. I better find the boss, destroy it, and purify the temple before the sun goes down._ To my left, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. It looked human, and it was kneeling in the flower bed, and taking notes in a small journal. That couldn't be the boss that was polluting the water, but I'm not taking chances.

I walked slowly to her with the Master Sword drawn. I pulled out myshield and asked it, "Are you the…" It jumped and turned around to reveal a young woman. "Don't startle me like that! Put away your sword, I thought you were one of those monsters. You could really hurt someone with that."

I sheathed my sword. "Who are you?"

"I'm sorry. My name is Noel, I'm a botanist."

"So you're Noel? Were you aware that you've been missing for a while?"

"Really? Well, that figures. Did Michelle send you?"

"Who? No, Holly did. She's in Ordon Village, right now."

"Right, I guess I owe them an explanation. See, I'm here studying the plants in the Lost Woods. Many of them have amazing healing properties. The problem is that sometimes, I get so engrossed in my research, I don't notice anything else, so I, um… well, I…"

"You got lost." I finished for her.

Noel got an embarrassed look and continued. "Anyways, as I was saying, while I was wandering around, I saw these amazing ruins! It was almost as if they built this building in the tree itself! I eventually learned that this is the legendary Forest Temple! I found many new specimens that I've never seen before! I eventually made my way in here, the deepest room in the temple. You can even see the source of the pure water that flows down these canals, and through the temple, and eventually to the river."

I looked at the purple water flowing into the room. "Pure water? It doesn't look pure to me…"

Noel turned back to the flower bed. "Well, for some odd reason, it's not flowing. In fact, it looks down right rancid." As Noel was saying that, the real monster boss descended from the ceiling: A gigantic six-headed plant monster! Each of its heads were arranged in a circle, and each head was a different color. They all were joined by a center mass that was suspended from the ceiling. Noel paid no attention as she crouched down back at the flower beds. "Come to think of it, it stopped flowing at the same time the Deku went bonkers. Maybe something is stopping the flow." Noel kept writing in her journal.

I drew the Master Sword and tried to warn her. "Look out behind you!"

"Again with the sword? There aren't any monsters here, so…" Noel turned around to see the plant monster and its green-colored head right in front of her. She just stood there, not moving.

"Run!" Noel just stood there, frozen in terror. "What are you doing? Get out of there!" The monster suddenly lunged at her, and all she could do was flinch as the plant effortlessly snatched the poor girl into its mouth. Another second, and she was gone! The monster then turned toward me. "If you think I'm going to be another easy meal, you've got another thing coming!" The plant, in response, it lunged toward me. I barely jumped back in time. Seeing that it missed its target, the plant monster unleashed a guttural roar. As it did that, in its mouth was a bud that was marked with the same symbol that was on the hookshot targets, as if to say, "Weakpoint here. Do not attack!"

"Having a marked weakpoint is never good for survival." The plant got angry and tried lunging for me. In a pinch, I lit a bomb and tossed it into its mouth. It chomped down on the bomb and it exploded in its mouth. The head twisted around, as if it were dizzy from the explosion. You probably would too, if something in your mouth just exploded. I took this break in the action to bring out the Hookshot and grab the marked bud that was in its mouth. The Hookshot grabbed the bud and it brought it back to me. When I let go, it shot back at the head. The green head fell down. "That takes care of that. Now let's take care of the other heads."

I ran clockwise around the room, and the next head was a bright red color. "Okay, gimme your best shot!" I said, expecting this head to lunge. Instead, it burst out a stream of fire! I wasn't able to dodge and my clothes caught on fire. "Seriously?" I said as ran around putting out the fires. "What kind of plant breathes fire?" As if to answer, the plant unleashed another stream of fire. This time, I blocked it with my shield. Luckily, the shield Juni gave me was made of metal, so it won't burn up like the last shield I had. "Nope. You won't catch me by surprise this time!" It roared in protest, but I interrupted it with the Hookshot. The bud snapped back, and the red head fell down.

The next head was a dirty brown color. "All right, what do you do?" I asked it. The brown head heaved and spat up mud all over the floor. I got covered in the mud. "Seriously? That's absolutely disgusting."The monster roared. As I was going to get the Hookshot, I slipped and fell into the mud. I tried getting up but kept slipping. As I finally got up, I saw that the red-colored head got back up. "What? I thought I killed it." It roared at me. "This time, stay down!" The head fell back down after I used the hookshot. I turned back to the brown head, as it vomited mud again. "I'm never going to be able to hit it with the Hookshot with all this mud." I thought for a split second, and I saw that the canals were washing the mud downstream. "If I stand in the canal, I'll get solid footing!" When the beast roared, I stood in the stream. I grabbed the bud with the Hookshot, and it snapped back at it. The brown head was down.

The next head was a bright yellow color. I held up my shield, feeling prepared for anything. Again, I was wrong. The yellow head spat a bolt of lightning that hit my shield. The shield only conducted the electricity, and I was reduced to spazzing gibberish as the electricity arced through my body. "Really? A plant that shoots lightning and breathes fire?" Before I could complain more, the plant fired lightning again. This time, I dove out of the way. It roared when it saw that I dodged its attack. Except, I shot it with the hookshot when it did. The bud came back and knocked it down. I saw that the brown-colored head had come to already.

"There's got to be some way to keep the plant from getting back up. It's undoing all the damage I'm doing to it!" I looked at the roof. The plant was hanging from the roof by a tree-like tangle of vines. It reminded me of the vines that held Slugdew in place. "Maybe if I cut those vines, it won't be able to regenerate!" I threw my boomerang at it, for it only to bounce off and come back to my hand. "I guess the vines are too thick for the boomerang. So I'll just have to cut them down myself!" I aimed the Hookshot at the vines and fired. As I flew toward the vines, a purple-colored head knocked me to the side. Luckily, I was still holding on to the Hookshot, and my sword. "Fine then. I'll just take you out first!"

The purple head then spat sickly purple gas. I held my breath and swung my sword to fan the gas away. Then it roared as the gas faded. I shot the bud with the Hookshot and it hit the purple head, and it fell over. I saw that I'd never be able to grab onto the vines with the plant head in the way. "I'll have to go between two heads." I saw that the yellow head was back up. I ran the other way to a light blue-colored head. The blue head breathed an icy blast. I tried to block it, but all that accomplished was covering myself in ice. If I could talk, I would say how completely illogical and unfair this was, but instead I thought about how unsurprised I was at this point. I broke free from the ice slowly. When the plant tried breathing ice again, I dodged it. As it roared, I grabbed its bud with the Hookshot, and it fell over.

"Finally! Now I can cut the vines!" I aimed the hookshot, and I flew between the two downed heads and onto the center mass with the vines. I cut at the vines with the Master Sword, they were tough to cut through. With each swipe, the mass of vines got thinner, and thinner, until they snapped! The vines shriveled up and turned into a brown husk. The plant monster shook me off, and I fell right in front of the green head. It roared violently at me.

"I thought it would die when I cut the vines." The green head lunged at me, and I did a rolling dodge out of the way. "I guess I'll have to do this one at a time." The red-colored head breathed fire at me, but I blocked it with my shield. "I know all your tricks now, so now you're going down!" The monster roared at me, by I grabbed its bud with the hookshot. This time, the bud wasn't the same color as before. Before, it was the same color as the plant, but now it was throbbing and swollen, and was glowing red and yellow. With the bud hanging out of its mouth, I knew this was my chance to attack! The plant reeled in pain with each strike of the Master Sword. With the final blow, the bud burst open like a water balloon and sprayed out some kind of slime like a Nickelodeon game show. The head was slowly withering and draining of color until it was a dry, wilted husk.

The plant monster noticed that one of its heads was gone, and it went in a frenzy. It rapidly spun around the room and crashed into the walls. I was tossed aside by the sheer force of it. When I got up, I saw that the purple head was now in front of me. It breathed its poisonous gas. I think I accidentally breathed some of it, because I started coughing uncontrollably. I threw the first thing I grabbed, which was my boomerang. The boomerang dispersed the gases and it hit the plant in the purple head. The purple head got stunned by the boomerang. As I stopped coughing and caught the boomerang, I pulled out the Hookshot and grabbed its bud. Then, I jabbed the Master Sword into the bud until it burst. The purple head wilted.

"That's two down. Four to go! The plant did its spinning frenzy again. I got caught up in it, and I was tossed across the room. When I got up, the blue head breathed a stream of ice. I quickly got out of the way. When it roared again, I shot it with the Hookshot, and it fell down. I ran up to its bud and slashed up the bud until it burst. The blue head shriveled and died. The monster did its spinning attack again, except this time, I dived out of the way. When I stood up, the brown head spat its mud again. I slipped and fell again. As it roared at me, I carefully stood in the canal, and I shot its bud with the Hookshot. Then, I ran up and then slashed apart the bud until it burst. The brown head whithered and crumbled until it was a darker brown husk.

I dodged the spinning attack better this time, and I was face to face with the yellow head again. It spat lightning at me, and I instinctively held up my shield. I remembered too late that the shield does nothing against that attack, and I was badly shocked again. It fired again, but I jumped out of the way. It roared at me as I shot its bud with the Hookshot. I jabbed and slashed at the bud until it burst. The vibrant yellow slowly turned to a lifeless brown. I slowly ran around the monster's spinning attack. I'm starting to get tired of jumping around to dodge. Then I saw that all that was left was the green head. "Well, looks like you're all alone. Got anything to say?" I taunted. It responded by lunging at me. "I thought you'd say that." I replied as I threw another bomb in its mouth. The bomb exploded in its mouth and it stunned it. I grabbed its bud with the hookshot and it fell down. I walked up to it and slashed it a couple times. "Now leave these people alone!" I jabbed the Master Sword into the bud and it burst open. The green head roared and cried as it shriveled wilted. As the last head withered, the whole plant monster started shrinking and draining of all color. When it shrank down to its smallest, it burst into purple smoke, just like all the other monsters. As it died, it released a bright green medallion adorned with the symbol of the Forest Temple. The medallion shimmered and shined and twirled until it met with a pedestal that rose by steps from the floor and shined. I twirled and sheathed my sword to celebrate my victory. The next thing I did was nearly fall to the floor. That fight took a lot out of me. I could already feel my adrenaline fading. I wasn't sure that I was cut out for this hero work.

I was about to walk up to the pedestal when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was Noel! She was lying on the ground, not moving. I ran up to her and kneeled to her level. She was covered in a thin, clear slime from head to toe. She sputtered and coughed as she started to breathe heavily. Somehow, she survived that entire ordeal. She spoke in a raspy voice. "Listen, my bag. There's a bottle with a red potion in it. Please, give it to me." I looked around, and I saw that her bag was also thrown across the room. I grabbed her bag and her journal, both amazingly unharmed, and I looked around in the bag. I saw a glass bottle with a red fluid inside and sealed with a cork. I brought it to her. "My arms, I can't move. Can you…?" I opened the bottle and poured some of the red fluid into her mouth. She swallowed some of the fluid and I stood up. I waited for a response. "Thank you." She said in a clearer voice. She sat up and downed the rest of the potion. She wiped her face and sighed. "Phew, that was a close one. I think I saw my life flash before my eyes. I thought I was a goner."

"What was that you just drank?"

"It was a potion I made. I told you that the plants around here have amazing healing properties. This particular one is made from a heart-shaped fruit that accelerates your healing rate. I don't know what to call it yet, so I just called it a red potion." She stuck out her hand.

I grabbed her hands and pulled Noel up to her feet. "Well, you're safe now. And it's all over."

"I don't think so. I believe this is only the beginning."

"Huh?" I asked her.

"Do you know what that was?" she asked me.

"Well, it was a plant… and it was hungry… and…"

"That was Manhandla," Noel interrupted, "a parasitic monster from ancient times. It must have been the one preventing the Pure Water from flowing. The poisoned water must have irritated the Deku, who in turn blamed the residents of Ordon Village and kidnapped them whenever they ventured out of the village."

"And it poisoned the Great Deku Tree…" I said under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Noel continued. "If that was just one of the ancient monsters, then…" Noel ran over and grabbed her bag. "I need to head back to Kakariko Town and warn everyone. This is a matter of life and death for not just the Hylians, but for all of Hyrule!"

"What makes you think that all the ancient monsters will come back?" I asked her.

"They were a package deal, they all were around when the hero slain them all." Noel turned back to me. "Um, I'm sorry I didn't notice this earlier, but… that sword. That sword is the blade of evil's bane spoken of in all the legends!"

I turned to look at the Master Sword. "So, now what?"

Noel looked toward the pedestal that just rose up. "Place the sword in the pedestal. The sword should purify the temple's taint and the Pure Water should flow again. Then the Deku will leave the village in peace." I walked up to the pedestal and jammed the Master Sword into the pedestal. The sword and the pedestal glowed a warm green. I stared at the sword for a while when I realized I didn't know what to do next.

"Now what?" I asked.

"I don't know. That should've done the trick. " Noel replied. "Why hasn't the Pure Water started flowing? Maybe you should do something else."

"Like what?"

"How should I know? Just do something!" Noel shouted defensively.

I thought for a moment. Then I remembered back at the treehouse where I first reunited with Laurel. I remembered a voice in the wind saying, "Remember this song; when the time is right, play the Minuet of Forest." I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I pulled out my harmonica and I started playing the Minuet of Forest. As I played the song, I noticed that the song was getting stronger. I lost myself in the music and the light got brighter. As I finished the song, the light was really bright, and light started crawling across the grooves in the floor and the walls and the ceiling. When they crawled away, the water changed from the sickly purple to a sparkling crystal water. It swept away the pollution Manhandla had caused and as it went down the canals and under the flowerbeds, the flowers blossomed into an even more radiant beauty. I didn't look at the scenery for long, though. As I grabbed the Master Sword, I whited out.


	23. Chapter 23: Golden Badge of Courage

I found myself in a more or less featureless plain. I didn't think there was anything else around, just a lot of fog. I found that I was still holding the Master Sword and my shield, but the rest of my gear was nowhere to be found. I heard a faint voice say, "So you are the new incarnation of the Hero of Time?"

I looked around and found nothing. "Who wants to know?"

A child appeared in front of me with its back turned. "Hmph, a grown man, shaking in his boots like a scared child." It turned its back to me to reveal a girl's face. "You may be wearing the clothes of legend, but you are nothing like the hero."

I paused, to register who was insulting me. "That's pretty big talk for a little girl."

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ria, the Sage of Forest. And I am no ordinary girl. I am a Kokiri. I have slept here for many, many years to protect the Triforce fragment for the hero. And here I am greeted by a man who is but a shell of his former glory."

"Yeah, but I've got the Master Sword! And I defeated the monster that corrupted this temple. That has to count for something!"

"I see. Well, let's go see exactly what you've learned from that." In front of her spawned a wooden puppet with a wooden sword and shield that was my size.

"Okay, so you just want me to fight this? No problem." I drew the Master Sword and lunged at the puppet. The puppet banged me with its shield and knocked me down with its sword. Ria shook her head in disdain. "Your skill is useless if you have no courage to back it up."

"I have plenty of courage! I wouldn't be here if I didn't!"

"Courage is not recklessly rushing into battle. To have courage, you must first have the power to press forward, and you must have the wisdom to know when to retreat."

"Well, I've got some of those already. I've got wisdom from solving the puzzles in the temple, and power from fighting the monsters."

"You might have them physically, but you are still mentally weak."

"Are you calling me stupid?"

"You must learn to wait for an attack, and use their own strength against them. I will teach you a technique that will allow you to do just that. I will teach you the shield bash."

"The shield bash? Do I just ram them with my shield?" I tried doing that to the puppet. It only blocked it with its own shield and hit be down again.

"If you do that, they can just block it themselves. You must do it while their attacking. And once you do that, you can attack while they're off guard."

I nodded. "Got it." I held up my shield as I waited for an attack. The puppet attacked and its weapon clanged against my shield. I then bumped it with my shield.

"You've got to time your hit with their attack." Ria said. The weapon clanged against my shield a few more times, until I bumped the shield at the same time the weapon hit. The puppet spun around and slumped over. "What are you waiting for? Now's your chance to strike!" I slashed downward with the Master Sword and did a spin attack to finish it off. "Very good." The puppet stood up again. "You can also use the shield bash to return enemy projectiles." The puppet inhaled and spat a nut at me. I blocked it with my shield. "You've got to use the same timing as before." This time, the puppet spat the nut, and I bashed it with my shield and it sailed back into the puppet's head. The head span around and slumped over. "Now you can strike!" I leapt forward and knocked it down. Ria clapped her hands. "Very good. Now, do you feel that you've learned something? Do you feel your courage building?" I nodded. "Very well, I now see that you deserve this. Take my piece of the Triforce of Courage. In her hands appeared a golden fragment. It was straight on one side, but jagged on all the others, as if it were broken. As it floated into my hands, I held it over my head as I felt its immense power flow into me. It was unlike any experience I had ever felt in my entire life. I felt stronger. I felt braver. I felt more courageous.

"You're already showing a part of the hero's spirit. There might just be some hope for you yet." As everything faded to white, she said one last time, "Courage is not just one virtue, but all your virtues combined."

"Hello? Hello? Are you listening?" I heard Noel talking to me.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"What happened to you?"

I pulled out the Master Sword and returned it to its sheathe. "Nothing. Just deep in thought."

"Well, as I was saying, we should make our way out of here."

"Yeah, I'll lead the way." As I led Noel out of the temple we decided to chat.

"You never did tell me your name." She said.

"My name is Link."

"Link. That's an odd name. Then again, I probably should've expected that, since you're carrying that sword, as well."

"So, you know about all the legends?"

"Oh yes. We believe that Hyrule was never in a good state unless the true royal family…"

"Yeah, I know about that already. Holly told me."

"Right. How did you manage to get through the Lost Woods to get here?"

"Oh, I have my methods." I said, placing my hand on where the Compass of Secrets was in my pack. Eager to change the subject, I asked. "So, what happened back there? Why couldn't you run?"

Noel froze up. "I don't know. I just panicked. It was so dark…"

"Sorry about that." We had come back to the entrance to the temple. "Well, let's go."

"Wait, what are you doing?" Noel grabbed my arm before I could cross the bridge.

"I'm going back, why?"

"It's getting late." Noel pointed to the sunset fading across the temple. "The woods are dangerous at night!"

"Really?"

"How do you think I wandered off to this temple?"

"Yeah, but we don't have to go all the way through. There a village of Kokiri that we can stay at." I added under my breath, "and they should be doing better now, too." I finished, "We can spend the night there, and we can leave in the morning."

"A village of what?"

"The Kokiri. You know, live in the forest, look like children, never grow up, worship a magic talking tree…"

"The Kokiri? Now, I know they were just a myth…"

"As opposed to the myth that just ate you back there?"

"Touché. We can at least look for this village, but if night falls and we don't make it, we have to go back."

"Fair enough." I took out the Compass of Secrets and we walked across the rope bridge. The waterfall shimmered beautifully in the orange light. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Noel replied. "Yes, it's majestic. But don't forget, we've got to find that village before nightfall." Noel pushed me across the bridge until I started walking across. "Now, are you sure you know where you're going?" I nodded. "I think I'm going to stick to you then…" Noel locked her arm into mine and we walked through the forest. I retraced my steps with the Compass of Secrets. As night came, I noticed that the woods were slowly becoming a much more dangerous place. But before night came completely, we made it back to the Kokiri Village where we were surrounded by Kokiri.

"The monsters are gone!"

"Thank you!"

"You're a true hero!"

"You've saved the forest!"

"Come on, don't crowd the man." Mido came and parted the croud. "Hylian, we thank you for all you have done. You've purified the river, and all the monsters have vanished."

"It wasn't too hard. No big deal."

"And you've even found your friend." Mido said as he turned to Noel. "What's your name?"

"I'm Noel. I study plants. You don't know what it's like finding this place. It's… indescribable."

"Thank you, both of you. And I'm sure the Great Deku Tree would thank you too, if he weren't…"

"What? But I'm sure that I did it before sunset…"

"Well, see for yourself." Mido led us to the grove where the Great Deku Tree was. The grove looked like it was wilted and there was barely any green left. "Oh Great Deku Tree, the Hylian has returned."

The Great Deku Tree's eyes just lit up and spoke. "Ah, so you have returned. Link. You have my eternal thanks. But sadly, it was not enough. The poison has lingered for far too long. I am afraid that I will have to leave my children."

"But, that can't be right. I did everything I was supposed to!" I cried out.

"Yes, and I appreciate it, but sadly, it was not enough. Thank you, Link. The forest is in your debt." And the Great Deku Tree rested.

"That's it?" Noel asked.

"That's it. It's over." Mido replied.

"That can't be it. This isn't the end."

"You heard him yourself. He's been hurt by the poison for too long. He couldn't handle it."

"Well, I refuse to let this end like this." Noel said. "Sure, he may be your patron deity, but he's still a plant!"

"What are you saying?" I asked her.

"I was brought to the forest for a reason." She said. "I know there's something I can do to help. So, I'm going to do all that I can to bring the Great Deku Tree back to health."

"You can do what you want." Mido said. "I'll have to tell the others what happened." Mido then left.

"There's still a fragment of health left." Noel said. "I can help, I know I can."

"Well, it's late out. You've got to be tired from the ordeal in the temple. Why don't you get some rest first, and then you can get a fresh start, first thing in the morning."

Noel hung her head and quietly replied, "Okay." We both walked back to the village.


	24. Chapter 24: Deku Madness Redux

I hit my head against the small roof. That's what happens when you sleep in a house meant for children. I duck to exit the small building and equip my things. After I've prepared for the day, I walk back to the grove where the Great Deku Tree was, and I found Noel there studying the plant's roots. I tapped her shoulder to get her attention. She jumped as she turned around. "Oh, it's just you, Link. You sleep well?"

"I guess I did." I reply. "Up until I woke up and hit my head."

"You too? Well, I guess that's what we get for sleeping in a child's house."

"So, how are you getting with the tree?"

"Honestly? It's not going too smoothly. But I'm not going to give up. These people need me. And I know I can save this tree, I can feel it!"

"Well, does this mean you're going to have to stay here? What about Holly and the rest of them?"

Noel stopped for a while. She quickly wrote a note in her journal and she tore out the page and handed it to me. "Here. Give this to Holly when you find her. This will explain everything that happened while I was out here." I folded up her note and placed it in my pocket. "Well, good luck out there, Link." She got up to hug me. "And thanks for saving me yesterday."

"Thanks." I returned her hug. "You too. And don't worry. I'll get this safely to her." I walked out of the grove and said my good-byes to the Kokiri. After that, I made my way back through the Lost Woods back to the entrance. When I reached the entrance of the Lost Woods, the Deku Scrubs from last time came again. "What do you want this time?"

The lead Deku Scrub pulled out a parchment and read, "By order of the honorable Deku King, you are invited to the Deku Palace for purifying the river and saving the forest."

"So, you're taking me to your king?" Maybe I could tell him to release the villagers they kidnapped. "Lead the way!" The Deku led me to a large canoe. I got in and sat down in the middle. They steered the canoe down the sparkling river and past several forested area until I saw a gigantic wooden palace in a marshy area. The Deku stopped the canoe in front of a dock leading to the entrance of the Deku Palace.

"The king is straight ahead, and don't even think about taking any other path!" I walked forward with the Deku Scrubs walking around me. Probably to make sure I don't wander. Inside were several Deku dancing and playing music. I also saw out of the corner of my eye a cage filled with people with ragged clothes. Most likely, it's some of the villagers the Deku kidnapped. We stopped when I was in front of the Deku King's throne. The music stopped when the Deku King was about to speak.

"Human. On behalf of the entire Deku Kingdom, I thank you. When my scouts told me that a human had purified the water from the Forest Temple, I had to bring him here to thank him personally. You have the eternal gratitude of the entire Deku people."

I bowed in respect. "Thank you." I had locked eyes with one of the prisoners, as if she were pleading with me to get her out. "Does this mean you'll release the people you captured?"

The Deku King laughed. "My boy, of course not!" There was an awkward silence. "Just because the water is clean now doesn't mean they won't dirty the water up again! No, these humans must pay for their crimes."

"But they weren't the ones who polluted the water! It was a monster in the Forest Temple called Manhandla!"

"A monster? In the Forest Temple? Impossible! Everyone knows that the water that comes from the Forest Temple sparkles with a divine radiance that monsters stay away from!"

"This wasn't any ordinary monster! It was an ancient parasitic plant that was defeated by the hero long ago, and came back which was beaten by me! The new hero!"

The Deku King simply laughed again. "You sure do know how to create a fabulous story! Now let us celebrate, and then… it's punishment time!" The Deku audience cheered, as I simply walked away. Obviously, he wasn't going to listen to reason. I guess I'll have to come to their rescue. I walked down the corridor, and turned down a pathway into a garden. There were some Deku Guards patrolling the corridors. I snuck down the pathways when the guards weren't looking, and I found a cage guarded by a couple Deku Scrubs. I pulled out my boomerang and hit both of the guards and they fell down dazed.

The people inside murmured wildly when the guards were incapacitated. I shushed them when I stole their keys and unlocked the gate. "Cay you guys find your way out of here?" Most of them nodded. "Okay, watch out for the guards, they may still be around. There's a village on the other side of the forest, you'll be safe there." The people started running off.

"Thank you! I won't forget this!"

"It's so good to be free again!"

"Forget this, I'm going back to Castle Town!"

The one in front stayed behind to say something else. "There's still two more prisons here. The Deku have them much more fortified. Be careful." He then ran off with the others. I ran off to another part of the palace. The guards were in even tighter runs. I weaved my way through the corridors, almost getting caught a couple times. But after a while, I made it to another prison, and freed them. That leaves only one prison left, the one that was in the throne room. I made my way back into the palace and looked for the last prison. I looked around, and I heard something behind the wall. I lit a bomb and ran off to the side. The bomb exploded to reveal the prisoners from before, and the Deku throne room.

"Intruder! Guards! Seize them! They all must be punished!"

I motioned for them to follow me. "Come with me! I'll lead you all back to the village!" They all ran after me as I drew my sword. The Deku Scrubs were quickly on our tail. Several more were beside us, shooting rocks at us. I blocked the ones that were coming at me with my shield, but the others were not so lucky. I saw an exit that led to the forest ahead. "Keep going! We're almost out! I let the crowd pass me and ran off into the forest, but there were still some stragglers. One woman tripped and fell with a child. The Deku were coming close. Some were getting ready to fire.

I quickly ran back and used the shield bash, and the first Deku scrub fell and the rest tripped over it. I picked up the kid and ran out of the palace and caught up with the rest of the group. "Thank you, sir. We've been in there for weeks."

"Yeah, I've heard the Deku weren't nice guys." I walked up to the front of the group. "We're going back to the village, follow me!" The crowd shouted excitedly, and we made our way back to Ordon Village. Once we made it there, the crowd reunited with their families. The woman and child ran up to the mayor who was still with Holly.

"Link? What… what is this?" Holly asked, in awe.

I scratched the back of my head. "Well, I was kinda invited to the Deku Palace, and well, after that, it was all a blur."

The mayor replied, "Well, Link, thank you. There's no way we could possibly repay you."

"Well, do you think I could get something to eat? I hadn't had anything all day."

The mayor smiled. "Yes, we can do that. We'll have a feast, in honor of our hero, Link!"

Holly came up to me. "But, Noel, did you find her in the Lost Woods?"

I nodded. "Noel couldn't come with me." I handed her the note Noel left me. "This should explain everything."

Holly read the note. "I see. I'd better get back to Kakariko Town. Michelle needs to hear about this."

The mayor interrupted, "Wait, you should really stick around for the feast." He laid a hand on each of our shoulders. "These are good times that are coming! We should celebrate!"

I thought for a while. "Well, I guess I could stay for now." Holly nodded and we both went into the house for the feast that night.


	25. Chapter 25: Rising Heat

The feast was amazing. And I'm not saying it because it was in my honor, but I had never seen that much food. I didn't think I could eat that much, either. I kinda felt bad for leaving them. But the Compass of Secrets had another idea. Right now, I'm taking even more buses. Since I can't afford a plane ticket, I'm not flying anywhere. Normally, it wouldn't be so bad, but now I'm supposed to go someplace far from home. Except I'm getting more and more bored with each trip. I can't imagine doing this six more times…

After what seemed like days, actually I think it really was days, I finally got to where I was supposed to go. Yellowstone National Park. I think I'm starting to see a trend. Of course, there was no time for me to take in the sights. Once I got out of sight, I started following the compass to the next area. When the compass shone brightly, I stopped. It didn't seem to be anywhere special. Just a random outcropping of rocks.

I looked around, there wasn't anyone else around except me. There wasn't anything else important around here. I saw that there was some markings on the rock. I looked closer and I saw that the markings were actually Hylian. I jumped backward when I saw that it was Hylian writing on the stone. "How is there Hylian writing here?" I asked myself. Maybe I should actually read the writing…

"To the hero: To learn the song to the Triforce, show proof of your identity, venture into the molten earth, and face the guardian of flames." I thought for a moment. _Show proof of your identity? _I thought. _What does it mean by that? _I thought for a moment. It's probably crazy, but I got an idea. I took out the Master Sword and plunged it into a crack in the rock. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the ground shook and the rock split open and revealed an old staircase down. I shielded my face from the heat that rose out of the cave. I picked the Master Sword back up and returned it to its sheath. I walked down the stairs and into the cave.

When I finally entered the cave, the wall closed behind me. In front of me was a familiar face. Except this time, instead of red, it was a darker red color. It turned around and jumped back. "Eh! You?"

"Ah, it's Guard'in again. I hope you realize that this time, I'm much stronger than I was before."

"That's not my… no matter. My master wishes to stop you before you realize your true potential. I tried stopping you before, but that stupid so called Avatar of Power was worthless! This time, I'll stop at nothing to stop you!" It slammed its hands against the ground and it fell away. I saw some wooden supports in the corners. Before the floor crumbled, I whipped out the Hookshot and quickly flung to the corners. The floor in the middle crumbled to reveal a lake of lava far below the floor. "Tsk. So you have gotten better. No matter, I've still got some tricks up my sleeves!" It started breathing fire at me. I brought out my shield and kneeled down to block all of it.

"Seems like you've still got the same old tricks."

"Silence! I'll kill you!" He brought his hand and threw a fiery punch at be. I barely got out of the way in time. The hand lingered for a while, and I took the opportunity to use a spin attack on the gem on the back of its hand. The Master Sword cleaved right through the gem and it shattered into a million pieces. The hand exploded in a huge dust cloud.

"Rrgh!" Guard'in punched the rock pillar I was standing on, and it started breaking. I used the Hookshot to fling myself to a more stable pillar. By the time he was done, I was long gone. "Take this!" His remaining hand grabbed a huge lava rock and threw it at me. I barely jumped out of the way. He kept grabbing them and throwing them at me. The next thing I knew, there was a shadow over me. I jumped out of the way, and the hand came crashing down. I used the Master Sword to destroy the hand almost immediately after.

"I'm not done with you!" It said. I pulled out my bow and shot out one of its eyes. "Ow! Stop!"

"But I am." I shot out the other eye, and it stopped in mid air. The head started falling and it crashed into the pit of lava below. "That ends that." I looked around to find the exit. For some reason, I could feel a very hot wind. I think I could hear something on the wind. It reminded me of the song I learned at the treehouse in the forest. I pulled out the harmonica and tried to match the song. This song sounded more powerful than the last one, like the boiling magma below me. After about twenty minutes, I matched the song. I heard a deep voice say, "When the time is right, remember this song. Play the Bolero of Fire to purify the earth." After that, the Compass of Secrets lit up and shone. A bright light shone.

When the light faded, the first thing I could feel was a burning sensation. When I could see, all around me was burning hot lava! It was so hot, too! It felt like I was melting! My clothes started to catch on fire! This wasn't like all the other times I was next to lava! It looked like physics wanted revenge. "This isn't good! It's not good at all! This isn't good!" Finally, the ground started shaking violently. The next thing I knew, everything around me exploded and I felt like I was flying through the air, then everything went black…


	26. Chapter 26: Nightmares and Daydreams

"Help me… Please help me…" The voice sounded familiar. "I'm a prisoner in the dungeon of the castle."

"Laurel?" I asked it.

The voice continued. "My name is Zelda. The wizard, Agahnim, has done… something to the other girls… now, only I remain." Somehow, I knew the names, but they didn't seem familiar to me. "Agahnim has seized control of the castle and is now trying to open the seven wise men's seal…. I'm in the castle dungeon. Please… help…"

I was awakened by thunder. It was raining outside. "Link," I saw a middle-aged man beside me, on the other side of the room. "I'm going out for a while. I'll be back by morning. Until then, don't leave this house." After that, he grabbed a sword and shield and left. I stayed there for a while. After a long time, he never came back. I grabbed a familiar looking lantern and went out the door.

"Um… the voice… Zelda? It said she was in the dungeon." I said to myself. "I think I should check there…" I walked through the harsh rain and up to the castle. There were a pair of guards at the castle gate.

"Hey, kid! What're you doing up this late?"

"You're not allowed in the castle!"

"You can stay up late when you're grown up!"

"Go home and go to sleep!"

I scowled at them. They obviously won't let me through. I walked around the castle wall and looked for another way in. I looked around and I saw a bush. I picked it up and I saw a deep pit. I looked to see how far it was. It didn't look like it was too far down. I jumped down into an underground tunnel. As I looked around, I saw someone laying in the dark. When I got close to it, I saw that it was the same man. "Link…" He groaned. "I didn't want to involve you in this… I told you not to leave the house…" He coughed. "Take my sword and shield and listen. Focus your power in the blade and release it, using the secret technique passed down by our people…" He coughed again. It didn't look like he was going to last much longer. "You can do it, Link. Save the princess!" His coughing intensified. "Zelda… Zelda… is… your…" And after that, he stopped moving. I tried the technique and it was a technique I recognized. It was the spin attack! I went through the door and back into darkness.

This time, it was much brighter. And everything looked familiar. I could hear a little girl crying far away. I ran as fast as I could to where it was, and I saw another familiar sight.

"Give it back! That's my mommy's necklace! Give it back!"

The bully was holding it up just out of her reach. The girl was helplessly jumping to reach it, but he pulled it away at the last minute. "If you want it back, you're going to have to catch it!" The bullies started running off with the girl trailing far behind. I ran back after them. When I caught up, the bullies started tossing the necklace among themselves with the girl desperately chasing after it until one of them tossed it too far and it landed in a pond. The girl ran up to the edge of the pond. She couldn't find it in the murky water. The bullies left and bumped me on the shoulder as they left.

I walked up to the now crying girl and asked her, "Laurel, what's wrong?"

Laurel sniffled. "Those meanies took my mommy's necklace! She said it was very important that I take care of it! She said I should guard it with my life. And now it's gone! They threw it in the lake!" Laurel ran away, bawling her eyes out. I looked around. I was about to give up, when I saw something glittering in the mud. It shone with a golden light. I knew it must be Laurel's necklace! I tried poking into the water, but it was too far, and it was too deep. There was only one thing left to do. I dove into the water and went for the necklace. The moment I came close to grabbing it, a big fish came along and snatched it before I could. I swam as fast as I could, and I grabbed the necklace in its mouth. The fish thrashed around and started beating me with its tail. I splashed around with it for what seemed like hours, until it finally let go of the necklace, and I burst out of the water, gasping for air.

I slowly walked back out of the water and back to what I recognized as the orphanage. I saw Laurel crying next to one of the nurses. "Ben! What happened to you? You're soaking wet!" I held out Laurel's necklace when she came over. Laurel gasped in excitement! "You found it! My mommy's necklace! Thank you, Link! Thank you so much!" She ran up and kissed me on the cheek. "You're a really great friend." She said as she took back her necklace.

Everything faded until I heard someone calling my name. "Link… Link… wake up…"

I saw that I was back at the Rising Sun inn, and Anyu was beside me. "Anyu?"

She got a relieved face when I started coming to. "Link! You're awake! You were out for a long time! About a day or two!"

I sighed. "What happened to me?"

Anyu shrugged. "Beats me. Juni said you fell from the sky while she was coming from Kakariko Town!" It made sense. I remember being in the volcano before I exploded, somehow… Anyu shook her head. "I'm just glad you're okay." I started looking around. Anyu sighed. "So, who's Laurel?"

"Huh?" I was dumfounded. How did she know…

"Well, while you were out, you said her name a lot. So, who is she? Is she someone special?" Anyu asked again.

"She… she was my best friend. We've spent our entire lives together…" I said sadly. "I had to leave her behind."

"Oh…"Anyu said, also sad. "You must really miss her…" I nodded. I felt like I might cry. I really didn't want to though. "Well, I've got the rest of your things right here." Anyu said as she brought over the Master Sword. "All this stuff was really busted up, but Juni fixed it all up. By the way, your sword looks different. Did you get a new one?"

I nodded. "It's really special. Maybe I'll tell you about it someday." I tried to get up, but I almost instantly felt pain.

"Be careful. You only just woke up! Are you sure you should be getting up like that?"

"I'm fine." I replied, clearly not fine. But I fought through the pain and sat up.

Anyu smiled as I stood up. She went and opened the door for me. "Come on. We could get you some breakfast. You should be hungry!" I felt myself, and I was actually pretty hungry. I followed her downstairs. The first thing I noticed was that there was much more activity here. There were people here.

Juni looked over from the front desk. "Oh! You're awake!"

I nodded. "Is it just me, or is there a lot more people here?"

Juni nodded. "They all came in as if it were overnight! Some of them said they were kidnapped by those plant people in the forests, and they said some swordsman in green saved them. Was that you?" I nodded. "Wow, Link! You just keep getting more and more amazing!" Juni shouted.

"Yes, yes, he does." Anyu hastily said, pushing me into the dining room. "Now Mr. Amazing needs to go get breakfast, bye Juni!" Anyu pushed me out of her sight, and sighed. "I'm sorry. She can be such a pain…"

"Oh, it's not a problem. Really."

"Really?" Anyu said, slightly surprised. "Well, I won't keep you. Help yourself to whatever you want. She left me there. I decided on something simple. Some bread with some honey, and fresh milk. It wasn't exactly a heroic feast, but it was still nice. I went back to my room and got all my gear ready to go. As I made my way back down the stairs, I ran into Anyu. "Oh, Link. You're leaving already?"

I nodded. "I'm afraid so. I've got to get to the volcano."

Anyu looked puzzled. "But the bridge is out. How will you get there?"

"I'll find a way."

Anyu smiled. "Well, good luck. And… well…" Anyu quickly kissed my cheek. "Thanks." She said. "You're a really good friend."

I nodded faintly, and I started going off to the front door. "Well, bye Anyu! Bye Juni!"

"Bye Link! Don't stay away too long! Come back soon!" Juni said excitedly as I went out the door.


	27. Chapter 27: Welcome to Kakariko

Hyrule Field wasn't exactly the pristine landscape that I had thought it would be. Well, actually, it still was. There were plains and hills as far as the eye could see. Occasionally, there was a handful of trees off the paths that led through the fields. Of course, there were plenty of monsters running around the paths, too. Everyone did say that they were walking around like they owned the place… the Master Sword made short work of them.

After about a couple hours of walking and fighting, I came across a massive gorge. There was a bridge on the path I was taking, but the bridge was broken down. It seems that they weren't kidding when they all said that the path to the town back here was down. I looked to the other side, there was a wooden frame that spelled out, "Kakariko Bridge." The frame was on the side I was on, too, over my head." I realized that I had a way to get to the other side. I pulled out the Hookshot, and aimed it at the sign. I raced across the gorge and I fell onto the wooden bridge pieces on the other side. "Well, at least I have a way for myself to cross." I said as I walked off to the mountain range.

Not too far from the mountains was a small pass. Above it was a sign that said, "Welcome to Kakariko Town." I thought for a moment. Wasn't it supposed to be Kakariko Village? I paid it no mind for now, when I walked through the pass. When I walked through the pass, there was something I wasn't expecting. Through the pass was a huge town, built into a canyon. Overhead, there was a sign, repeating, "Welcome to Kakariko Town." This was no mere village…

The town was nearly as busy as Castle Town; the only difference was that these people were much less well-to-do than in Castle Town. In fact, there were more people on the streets than there were in the buildings. I hardly got some strange looks, not nearly as much as I did when I first reached Castle Town. Before I could get anywhere else, I saw a group of people of people huddling around a girl playing the guitar. She was playing a familiar tune on her guitar that sounder rather nice. Apparently, plenty of other people were enjoying it as well. I saw people toss rupees into a tin can beside her. When the song ended, the crowd clapped and dispersed. I looked into the can, there wasn't much more than a few green rupees. I took out a red piece and I dropped it in.

The girl looked in the can and then up at me. "That was awfully generous of you…"

I shrugged. "It was a nice song…"

"Thanks, I wrote it myself. I know it sounds weird, but I can feel the musical essence of places and I just put them down on paper." She took a good look at me. "Wait a moment, those clothes… that sword… you're the one that Holly's been going on about!" I nodded. She pocketed the money and her guitar and grabbed my arm with the other hand.

Inside was a small inn, not much different than the Rising Sun back in Castle Town. There were some people sitting around, but the main thing that caught my mind was the stage in the back there were mostly children sitting at the front of the stage. On the stage was someone dressed as Link, and behind him was a fairy puppet, and on the other side was a thicker woman dressed as Sheik.

"A special item, eh… Ooh! Is it a coffin?" The actor said.

"No." The actress replied, sounding annoyed.

"Ooh, is it a tombstone?"

"No…"

"Ooh, ooh, is it a magic shovel?"

"Yes, Link. It's a magic shovel." She said, sarcastically. The kids laughed.

"Really?"

"No, you idiot!" She finally shouted. "Whoever heard of an enchanted shovel? Get out of here!"

"Okay, okay. You don't have to get so mad…" The Link actor left, leaving the actress to shake her head as the curtains fell. The audience clapped as they went about their own business. The girl I was following brought me to the counter where someone was cleaning out mugs. "Michelle, this is him! The one Holly was talking about!"

The woman took a quick glance at me. She was as heavy set as Juni, but she was still thinner than she was. She also had brown hair, while Juni had red hair. "So he is, isn't he? She motioned for the two of us to follow her. We went into a back room where there was a bunch of drawings and pictures. Most of them had the same figure of three triangles which I recognized as the Triforce. "So, you were the one who found Noel after all this time?" I nodded. "Hmph. It seems like an odd coincidence that she opted not to come with…"

"She had unfinished business. But she's in a safe place now."

"She also said that the Deku were harassing the village down in the forest, but you saved them, too. That's quite an impressive feat. You just might be the one we've been looking for."

"I don't think so." A bigger man spoke up, speaking in the corner, sharpening a huge axe. "Just because he says he saved one of our own, and dresses like some hero of legend doesn't mean he has what it takes to join us. He may be working with the king…"

I shook my head as the intimidating looking man made his way over here. "No, of course not."

"Yeah? And what's stopping me from kicking you back to Castle Town?"

"Michael…" Michelle tried to interrupt.

"No, this whole thing seems awfully fishy to me. So talk, fairy boy. Why are you here?"

I quickly gulped down my fear as I said, "I know where the real ruler of Hyrule is." The room was silent. "You said it yourself. Hyrule was never in the best state unless the true ruler of Hyrule was on the throne. The princess is in the castle. If you help me get in, I'll help you get her on the throne."

"You mean Princess Zelda?" Michael laughed. "Please, just because we get the princess her throne doesn't mean the people will follow suit."

"No, Michael, but this is too good of an opportunity to pass up. We should at least give him a chance…"

Michael grumbled. "Well, even if what he says is true, how are we supposed to get in the castle? In case you forgot, there's an impenetrable barrier surrounding the castle. How are we supposed to get it?"

"Assemble the Triforce of Courage…" I said, absentmindedly.

They both exchanged strange looks. "What?"

I just realized what I said. "The Triforce of Courage. It's the only thing with enough power to shatter that barrier. I've got the Master Sword. With the Triforce of Courage, I'll have the strength of the Hero of Time."

They both looked at me like I was insane. "We don't have to deal with this… just let him run the gauntlet. We'll see if he's got the skills to back it up, then."

"We can't do the gauntlet right now, everyone's out scouting." Michelle replied. She turned to me. "Okay, so if it works, where would you find the Triforce?"

I looked around. "One piece is in the volcano…"

"So, you're saying you need to get to Death Mountain?" Michael chuckled. "Good luck. There's no going up there now."

"The volcano has been acting up recently." Michelle explained. "It's too dangerous to go up there now. The mountain could blow at any moment."

"Besides," Michael continued, "even if it wasn't about to blow, that area's Goron country. They don't let anyone into their territory, not anymore."

"Michael, they were friendly before. Maybe they need help…"

"Well, we should help ourselves first! There are still people starving on the streets here in Kakariko. Besides, the Gorons only recognize strength. You wouldn't last five seconds."

I got upset. "Please. I bet I could last ten seconds!" I said, leaving the room.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Michelle said, following me.

"I'm going up to the volcano. I need to get there anyways!" Before they could object, I stormed out of the inn and made my way up to Death Mountain.


	28. Chapter 28: Luck Favors the Prepared

"Approaching Death Mountain: Beware of falling rocks!" I came across a path with that sign in the way. I walked around the sign and I went into a narrow cliff until there was a high wall in front of me. Luckily, there was a metal grate I could climb up. I carefully climbed the grate. It felt like I was climbing for ages, but I finally came to the top. At the top was another relatively narrow pathway, but in the middle of the path was a huge brown creature with a huge and hard back, and a round face.

"Intruder!" It said with a huge, deep voice. It suddenly curled into a huge ball and it came barreling down the pathway toward me! Before I could react, I found myself sailing through the air and back down the cliff. "Puny human! This is Goron territory! Humans have no business here!" It walked off with some heavy thuds before I could respond. I was still dazed by the impact and the fall.

When I gained my composure, I immediately started climbing up the wall again. When I finally came to the top again, the Goron was waiting for me. "Back for more? Don't let me disappoint you!" It rolled up into a ball again and it came dashing towards me. This time I was ready. I pulled out my shield to try to do the shield bash. The shield didn't help me block the Goron at all. I got knocked off the cliff with the same amount of ease. "The elders forbid humans to climb up the mountain! Now run back to where you came from!" The Goron walked off again.

Before I could get up again, I saw a familiar face. Michelle came up with Michael following. "Michelle? You followed me here?"

"Yeah." She grabbed my hand and pulled me up. "What were you thinking? You can't just waltz up Death Mountain! It's called Death Mountain for a reason!"

"Well, I thought…"

"No, you didn't!" Michelle interrupted. "Do you even know what's up there? Lava. Boiling hot lava. You'll catch on fire before you have time to scream!" I stopped, remembering the moment I had in the volcano. "And don't get me started with the Gorons! You can't just rush in head first! They'll hit you. Hard."

"I was hoping I'd get to see him get knocked off the cliff." Michael said behind her. Michelle just rolled her eyes.

"Well, what do you expect me to do?" I said, getting impatient.

"Well, Cam just came back. He can get you something that will help you survive the volcano. And Brandi can make you some potions, too. Just in case."

"Those Gorons don't play nice…" Michael added. "You'd better have some plan for getting past them…" After that, they turned away and back to town. After looking at the cliff face once again, I followed them back to town.

"Cam's house is right over there, at the end of the street. Brandi is a couple doors down from here." Michelle stopped to point in the direction. "I already told them about you, so they'll be expecting you. Good luck." Michelle disappeared into the inn. I decided to go to Brandi first. She was closer.

A couple doors down, there was a small house. I knocked on the door. "Come in, it's open…" A small voice called. I opened the door. Inside was a small store, with several bottles of odd looking liquids. "So?" Inside was a short, petite girl with straight light brown hair. "What do you want?"

"Michelle said you could make me some potions for Death Mountain."

Brandi clapped. "Right… I can definitely do that! Noel taught me everything I know!" She beckoned for me to follow her. "So, are you Link? I heard all about you! You found Noel after all this time! I was thinking the worst! You said that she was exploring the Lost Woods?"

I nodded. "She stumbled on the Forest Temple, and she got caught by an ancient monster."

"And you saved her? You're just amazing! Just for you, this one is free! Now, you have an empty bottle on you, right?" I nodded and handed the bottle to her. "Right." She poured in a thick looking red liquid into the bottle. "Okay, this is Noel's Red Potion. It's the only potion I'm really good at making…"

"It's okay. Really." I said, taking the potion. "It worked like a wonder for Noel! Maybe it'll do just as well for me!"

Brandi nodded. "Yep, that potion should rapidly increase your healing rate. It'll seem like your wounds will just disappear!"

I smiled. "Right, well, thanks for the potion." I said, leaving the building.

"Don't forget! That was your only freebie! I'll have to charge you for any other potions! I have to make a living somehow!" Brandi called as I left.

I followed Michelle's directions to Cam's place. I knocked on the door, but it was already open. Inside was a handful of machinery whirring and clicking. A young man was inside, working on something. "Hello?" I asked.

He jumped. "Don't just walk in on me like that! I'm working on very sensitive equipment!"

"Sorry…" I said sheepishly. "I did knock… Are you Cam?"

He nodded as he put his equipment down. "Yes, and you must be that Link character I've heard about. Odd name. And I hear you're going to climb Death Mountain to try to knock some sense into the Gorons." I nodded. "Well, I guess I can try to come up with something. Could you give me your tunic?" I stopped for a moment, then I took off my sword and shield and pulled my tunic off over my body, leaving me in an undershirt. "Great, I'll get to work right away." I sat down as he went off in another room. "Also, please don't touch anything…"

I waited for what seemed like hours. It was a little chilly. After the long wait, Cam came back with my tunic. He threw it in my direction and I caught it. "Here, I've fixed it for you." I quickly put the tunic on. It felt different somehow. "I've put on a heat-resisting overlay. Now you should be able to travel into Death Mountain without burning up. The hot magma should be as hot as a summer day! I've even put in a cold-resisting underlay, just in case. Because you never know where you might be heading…"

I nodded in thanks. "What about the Gorons? Don't you have anything I can use against them?"

"I'm a scientist, not a miracle worker…" Cam replied annoyed. "You're smart. I'm sure you'll think of something…"

I sighed. "Thanks anyways." I started leaving.

"Right, well, if you need anything else from me, you'll just have to wait until I'm done with this…" Cam went back to his machine. With my preparations complete, I finally decided to head back to Death Mountain. But I still had no idea how to get past the Gorons…


	29. Chapter 29: A Test of Strength

I slowly made my way back to the Death Mountain pass. I climbed back up the cliff, trying to come up with ways to get past that Goron. My shield didn't help, and there was no way I could overpower something like that! As I got back up to the top, the Goron saw me again. "You again? You don't know how to take a hint, do you? Now I'll take care of you!" The Goron started rolling in place before barreling towards me. As it kept going, I could only think of one possibility. Once the Goron got close, I hopped back down the cliff, holding on for dear life. The Goron barreled over my head and sailed down the cliff with a surprised groan. He hit the rock wall.

I climbed back up there. "Ha! I didn't need brute strength after all! Brains beats brawn again!" I shouted.

The Goron growled. "That was a dirty trick! My brothers won't fall for something like that so easily!" I ignored him and I started going farther up the mountain.

After a while of hiking, the ground started rumbling. I looked up. The mountain was exploding again! It was raining gigantic flaming boulders! I ran frantically to avoid the raining brimstone. After that moment, I took a moment to calm myself down. "I think I just found out why they call this Death Mountain…" After that, I kept going down the trail. Further down the trail were more Gorons talking. They suddenly noticed me. "Intruder!" They both curled up and started rolling down the path toward me. I held up my shield, but they both rolled right over me and down the mountain. Once I picked myself up, I laughed again. "Guess they didn't think that through!"

I kept going down the path until I found a huge crater, that wasn't quite at the summit, but you could easily see the summit. There were Gorons everywhere… Nearby, there was a sign that said, "Welcome to Goron City" crudely carved in a nearby stone. This was definitely where the Gorons lived… now I just needed to find their leader… There were several buildings carved from stones. The biggest one was in the middle and the entrance was guarded by two Gorons. That had to be where the leader was… I knew I had to get there, but I had no idea how…

I slowly climbed down the ridge into the crater. Just then, there was another thunderous rumbling! The mountain was going to blow again! All the Gorons scrambled for shelter from the raining volcanic rocks. The flaming rain stopped as suddenly as it started, but not before pummeling the Goron's homes. I took that time to go through the city. The rocks did a number to the city…

As I was looking at the debris, I heard some deep murmuring. It was then that I realized my mistake. The Gorons started peeking out of their homes to see some awkward looking guy strolling down the streets… the Gorons came out of their homes to see me. Some tough looking Gorons surrounded me and they started curling up and rolling in place. I braced myself for their attack when I heard another deep yelling. "Hold it!" The Gorons stopped rolling and stood back up. The Gorons stepped aside for another bigger Goron to come through. He easily dwarfed the other Gorons. "This human has come far, braved our brothers, and the mountain's wrath. He must have a good reason to come here. Now, let him speak."

I paused as the silence grew awkward. "Oh, um… Right. I'm looking for the piece of the Triforce of Courage that is on this mountain."

The Goron elder looked troubled at the mention of the Triforce. "Right. You must come with me. This information is not for everyone's ears…" He turned around and went into his own building. I followed him into his building. He turned around and faced me. "You seek the Triforce of Courage?" I nodded. "Well, I know of what you seek. It is in the Fire Temple, a sacred place to us Gorons, in the core of the volcano. Normally, for outsiders like you, you must prove your worth in a test of strength. But in most cases, they would burst into flames, anyways." The Goron's expressions changed. "But the circumstances have changed. The mountain is angry. It rains down destruction almost every hour. I have had visions about the cause of this disaster. I saw a ferocious monster, inhabiting the temple! I had visions about how to stop this disaster. I saw a human in green searching for a golden power, striking down the monster with the sacred Flamtaer Hammer!"

"And you think this vision was talking about me." I continued.

"Well, you're our only choice. You must venture into the Death Mountain Crater, and destroy the monster in the Fire Temple!"

I sighed. "Well, I was going into the temple anyways. I guess it saves me some trouble."

The elder let out a hardy laugh. "I knew you were a good choice!" He patted me hard on the back and I fell over. "Well, get to it!" I quickly made my way out of the elder's home. The other Gorons were preoccupied with clearing the debris that littered the town. Meanwhile, I made my way toward the smoldering mountain, to find Death Mountain Crater.

The path wasn't that hard, there were a handful of tricky climbs, but I was much better suited for rock climbing now. Was it the Triforce piece I collected giving me strength, or have I finally gotten used to this adventuring thing? I guess I'll never know. I noticed there wasn't any monsters, either. I guess the volcano violently erupting scared them off. I felt the ground rumbling beneath my feet. Speak of the devil…

In front of me, the volcano was already starting to spew flames! Heat vents were spewing gases all around me! I ran to the side, dodging the heat vents, taking shelter. I ducked down as the flaming boulders rained down around me. When the mountain stopped rumbling, and I felt that the coast was clear, I came out form the outcropping. I finally made it to the end of the trail. In front of me was a cave. I looked inside. This was the Death Mountain Crater. Deep at the bottom was a huge lake of lave, and at the bottom was a huge building. This was the Fire Temple. I started climbing down into the crater. No turning back now…


	30. Chapter 30: Fire Temple

A staircase started leading down into the base of the temple. I was met with a huge wave of heat once I got into the first room. It was a simple hallway carved in the caves, lit by torches. At the other end was another staircase. It split at the other wall and led to two doors. The one on the right was locked. I sighed. "Well, it's time to get to work."

However, before I could take too many steps, I already ran into trouble. Some odd looking slugs fell from the ceiling. I drew my sword and shield when I realized that they were on fire. I observed them for a moment, but it didn't look like they noticed me. Of course, as soon as I said that, they spat magma at me. Luckily, my shield was in front of me. I slashed at the slug s flames and it melted into the purple dust. That didn't seem too bad.

I climbed up the stairs and opened the door on the left. This definitely looked like the main room of the temple I was on a balcony, overlooking a huge river of magma. There was a staircase going down on each side of the lava flow. There were two waterfalls of magma on each side. It was a very nice thing to see. Of course, there was no time to marvel at the architecture. On one end of the balcony was a small chest. My kleptomaniac senses were tingling and I just had to open the chest. Inside was a red rupee! Though, it was the only thing in the chest. Weird...

I went back across the balcony and walked down the stairs. I was suddenly glad with the heat-proofing that Cam did on my tunic. I barely felt anything when I walked down the stairs, by the lavafall. Of course, it was still ridiculously hot I tried staying away from the river of lava as I walked along the shore. In front of me was a broken down wall from the wall. There was no way I could jump over this wall. But it looked like the debris was very brittle I lit a bomb and I dropped it in front of the wall. I ran back out of the way. The bomb exploded and the wall broke down. Simple.

This didn't look like a different room at all. Then again, that wall seemed hastily made. Of course, after that, I found likely candidates for the ones who built the wall. There were some of the monsters from a long time ago. I hadn't seen them in a while. No matter. They were no match for the Master Sword. One of the monsters game my way and tried swinging a club. I easily blocked it and I slashed at it. It fell in one shot. The other two were dispatched just as easily. If this is how the enemies are going to be, this will be an easy trek...

Unfortunately, things can t ever be that easy for me. In front of me was a huge wall. And there was no way I could progress. Without a key for the other door, my progress would come to a halt. I stopped to think for a moment. I suddenly remembered a trick from my days at the orphanage. If you swung your sword at a wall that you could bomb, it would make a different noise. I swung my sword at the wall. It left a few sparks and a loud clanging noise. It kinda irritated me I started swinging my sword against the other parts of the wall when I suddenly heard an off-tone clanging. I poked my sword at it a couple more times to be sure I wasn't mistaken. Sure enough, this wall seemed weak. I lit another bomb and put it by the wall. Once I ran for cover, the bomb exploded, revealing a hole in the wall.

I went through the hole and I found myself outside the temple. I was on a small outcropping into the crater. The magma was dangerously high and bubbling. The Gorons weren't exaggerating when they mentioned the mountain being angry something was definitely not right here. Of course, there was an even smaller outcropping with a lone chest. There was no way I could jump to get there but there was another trick I remembered. I pulled out the Hookshot, and I aimed for the treasure chest. I was pulled over to the chest, and I slammed uncomfortably into the chest. Sure enough, inside the chest was the key I was looking for! Only, the problem was... I had no way to get back...

I looked at the wall. It looked like there was a narrow ledge that I could climb across. Of course, no one could make this easy I hopped up and I grabbed onto the ledge. That was the easy part. Now, I had to precariously edge along the ledge. It felt like my arms were about to fall off as I sidled across the ledge. Of course, if I did, it would lead to a fiery death I just had to remember not to look down After what seemed like hours, I finally made it back across. My arms felt like they were made of rubber...

As I walked back, waiting for my arms to recover, I noticed something in the center of the lava river. It was a huge whirlpool of magma, spiraling down deeper into the crater... Was this why the lava was so high outside? It was certainly something I d have to look into On the other side was a huge door with a huge lock on it. I looked over there. "Well, at least now I know where the boss monster is." I said to myself. "Now, how do I get over there?" Unless I could suddenly walk on lava, there would be no way I could get over there and not get burned to a crisp. Besides, I didn't have the key for the lock yet. There was nothing I could do.

I walked back up to the balcony and went back into the first room. This time, I unlocked the door on the right. The door opened to reveal the other end of the balcony. Oddly enough, there was a pillar with a hookshot target on the other side. But there wasn't one on this side. I looked up, but I saw the hookshot target on a wall. But it wouldn't be much use there. I saw a rope holding the thing back. I took out my bow and shot the rope. The target swung out and locked in place, lined up with the other target. I guess that was an easy way to get back.

I noticed another chest at the end of the balcony. This one had the map inside. I examined it. It wasn't too big... Though, there was supposed to be a big island in the middle of the lava river, but all that was there was the lava whirlpool... where did it go?

For now, I paid it no mind. I walked down the opposite staircase, and there was another hastily made wall. I threw a bomb at it and the wall crumbled. At that same moment, a huge amount of those fire slugs fell from the roof! They must've been shaken off by the explosion! I started running past them all, and they all started spitting at me. I swiped at the ones that were in my way, but for the most part, I avoided them all. Eventually, I got past them all. I made it to a huge, worn-down wall. This didn't look too hard to climb. Then again, I wasn't exactly a fit athlete. I m still sure that the Triforce of Courage is making me stronger.

Climbing that wall was a chore, but I made it to the second level of the temple. To my left was another treasure chest at the end of a long hallway it almost seemed suspicious I walked down the hallway, and suddenly, flaming darts shot out of the walls! I jumped back, but not before getting hit with a few of the darts I put out the flames and took the darts out. They hurt quite a bit I was wondering how I could get through without being a flaming pincushion I pulled out the Hookshot and shot the treasure chest. I flew down the hallway, the darts sailing past me. I ran into the treasure chest again. "There has to be an easier way to do this..." I moaned as I opened the chest. Inside was a compass. Just like before, it turned into light and ran into the map, revealing treasure and the boss. The boss was exactly where I thought it was, at the bottom floor.

In front of me was another lake of magma, but this time, it was flowing downwards. Most likely toward those lava-waterfalls. I probably had to get to the other side. On the side, I found more of those water pots that Laurel found. Laurel...

I shook out thoughts of Laurel from my head as I picked up the water pot and threw it in the lava. The lava cooled and it hardened, but it started flowing toward the lavafall I watched it fall down, and I thought about how I was going to do this. I got an idea. I threw another water pot into the lava. I grabbed another pot as I jumped onto the hardened rock. I tried to ignore my burning feet as I waited for the right moment. When my rock raft made it to the middle of the magma lake, I threw the other pot in the lava and jumped across. The other rock raft carried me to the other side. Once the rock raft got to the other side, I leaped off. Then I sat down and rubbed my poor feet. I hoped I never had to do that again.

There was a big door over here. It wasn't like the others. There were handles on the bottom and you had to lift it overhead for this one. I did my best to lift it over my head and walk underneath it. It was tough, and the Triforce of Courage was definitely giving me strength Before I could recover, a gate closed over the door behind me. Two of the raptor things from before jumped down and blocked me off. "No problem. I've beat you guys before, I can do it again!" I used the shield bash to block its first attack. The raptor staggered back, and I jumped at it. It fell backwards and into the lava. Its partner jumped over my head and tried to attack my back. I turned around again and blocked its attack with my shield. I slashed at it and it fell in the lava, too. That ends that. Before I could sheathe my sword, a bigger raptor thing fell down from the roof. It was wearing a huge metal gauntlet and it had a spike on its tail. It roared a huge breath of fire. "Wonderful, and I thought this would be too easy..."


	31. Chapter 31: The Legendary Hammer

This raptor looked really tough, I was going to have to be careful. The next thing I knew, I was knocked backwards. The raptor-thing uppercut me to the floor. I got up before it could attack again. It tried the same thing, but this time, I used my shield to block it. However, I hadn't paid attention to the raptor's tail. It swung around my shield and hit me to the side. It was laughing some sort of shrill laugh as I got up.

"Shut up!" I yelled at it, as I swung my sword at it. My sword clanged against the raptor s gauntlet. I paused for a moment as it laughed at me again. I got fed up and I used the spin attack in an opening. The raptor fell over. Before I could attack again, the raptor jumped up. It tried upperctting me again, but it hit my shield. The hit was pretty strong, though. I staggered back with the hit. The raptor stood up right and started breathing fire. I held up my shield and the flames washed over it. "I don t know why they think that works..." I said aloud. The raptor swung its gauntlet at me again, but this time, I timed the shield bash at its attack. The raptor staggered again, and I slashed at it while it was weak. At the final attack, the raptor fell over, and it faded into the purple dust.

With the raptor s death, the gate came back up from the door, and another gate rose over the door. Though, usually a chest appeared with the dungeon's treasure... I had no choice but to move forward. I sheathed my sword and opened the door. To the side, was a staircase leading up. I walked up the staircase. To the left was a huge, gaping hole. At the bottom was the lava whirlpool on the ground floor. Of course, there was no guardrail, and it was a long way down. I d have to be careful.

At the top of the staircase was some sort of shrine. There were two huge Goron statues guarding a flaming shrine. There was a stone carved with the description, "Flamtaer Hammer, the legendary weapon of the Gorons. The very weapon that destroyed the evil monster, Fyrock. To the new hero, reach through the flames and wield the hammer." I reached toward the flames, but they were way too hot to touch, even with the handy fireproofing... There had to be a way to get past the flames... I looked around. There seemed to be a switch at the bottom of the staircase. I jumped off the ledge the shrine was at, but the moment I hit the ground, I used my momentum to roll forward. That felt amazing, it was such a rush! But there was no time to marvel at my parkour instincts...

I stepped on the switch and I started running up the stairs, while being careful not to fall. The flames were gone from the shrine, but not for long. I crossed where the flames were just before they came on again. In front of me was a deep red hammer with golden trims. I took the hammer off the shrine and the flames went out. There must've been some kind of mechanics in the shrine that turned the flames off. Of course, the Gorons wouldn't have to worry about fire... they were rocks. I tried to lift the hammer. It was really heavy, I could barely lift it! And there was no place for me to put this hammer on my suit. It looks like I won't be using the Master Sword for a while.

I backtracked for a little while, until I came back to the room where the magma-falls flowed down into the floor below. There were no water pots on this side I looked forward. There was a staircase on the other side of the lake of lava, but there was no way I could get across! I took a look around. There was a pillar that was on this side that I paid no attention to earlier, but now that I got a better look at it, it wasn't a load-bearing pillar... I swung the Flamtaer Hammer at the pillar. It started crumbling with a few hits, and it fell over the lava lake and made a makeshift bridge! Just like in the movies! I climbed onto the fallen pillar and slowly balanced across the pillar. It wasn't an easy task, especially while carrying a huge hammer...

Aside from that, I got across the pillar relatively easily. All that was left was the staircase up. This staircase took me up to the roof of the temple. It was covered in debris from the volcano acting up. I felt the ground rumbling again. I ran down the stairs again and waited for the eruptions to stop. When I came back up, the roof was covered in flaming rocks. I slammed the rocks with my hammer and smashed them into rubble. As soon as I stepped closer, a pillar of flames rose on top of me. It knocked me back, and I tried putting out the flames.

"Okay, fire still hurts me." I said as I got up. I m going to have to be much more careful... I broke more of the rocks and carefully stepped forward. Once a pillar of flame erupted, I jumped back. As I was breaking rocks, I noticed a very fancy chest. I had to navigate to that chest. Once I made it to the chest, I opened it to find a big key. It was a deep red and had the depiction of a two headed dragon on it.

Then, I navigated the other half of the fiery maze. It felt like hours, but I finally made it to the end. There was a huge space with the Fire Temple s insignia on it. It was odd, but there was nowhere else to go... I thought for another moment. That island that was on the map wasn't there at all... and this was supposed to be an open space. Maybe... I saw odd rocks at the side of this. I used the hammer to pound all the rocks into the ground. Once they were all in, the rock shuddered. The rock wouldn't fall, though. I stood in the middle of the rock, and I slammed the middle of the rock with my hammer. The rock started slipping down, and it eventually fell. Unfortunately, I was falling along with it!


	32. Chapter 32: Ancient Magma Dragon

I held onto the ground as it started falling beneath me. It felt like it would fall forever, but then I hit the ground, and there was a huge splashing noise. I opened my eyes and I looked around. The rock fell to the first floor again, and it fell on top of the lava whirlpool, too! That was one problem solved, but there was still the matter of the monster in the temple. With luck, that would be just as easy. I picked up the hammer and jumped to the formerly unreachable ledge.

The only thing left that was of interest here was a huge door on the shore that I couldn't reach before. And on the door was a huge lock. Nothing left but to open this huge lock and beat the temple's monster as I unlocked the door and the chains fell off, I was starting to get cold feet. I was supposed to be fighting a dragon now it seemed like a very unfair fight... Then I remembered that I had the same weapon that defeated it last time! I opened the huge door that led to the temple's boss.

There was a very small cave just inside the door. The temperature was getting even hotter the further I was going, even with the heat-proofing. When the cave opened up, I was in a huge, expansive room filled with boiling hot lava. It looked like there was nothing in this room. Suddenly, something rose out of the lava right in front of me. It was a gigantic dragon head, and right next to it rose another head! "Fyrock!" I shouted as it let out a huge roar! I picked up the Flamtaer Hammer.

The dragon heads looked at each other and then they blew a huge stream of flames. I barely dodged out of the way, but not without getting my clothes singed. I put out the flames, when they suddenly spit out huge flaming rocks at me! I dodged one, but I ran right into the other one. I started putting out the flames on my clothes when I picked up the hammer again. "I hoped you enjoyed those cheap shots because you won't get another opportunity!" I stood my ground. Though, it started breathing fire again. I started running as fast as I could while carrying the hammer. It wasn't easy. Once I calmed down, the head closest to me lunged for me, but it came up short. I whacked it in the head with the hammer and it reeled back in pain.

The other head spat a huge fireball in retaliation. I sidestepped out of the way. The other head did the same. I stood my ground and I swung the hammer at the fireball. The fireball went flying into the other head! It staggered and fell to the ground. I ran up and I slammed it with the hammer. I was now ready for this thing. Since it couldn't get out of the lava, it couldn't do a whole lot to me other than throw fire at me! Now filled with vigor, I dodged Fyrock's flame breath and I countered its fireballs with my hammer. Easy!

I could tell that one of the heads was almost gone. I hit the next fireball fired at me, and I slammed the hammer down on top of its head. The head let out a huge roar and sank back into the lava. The other head noticed the absence of its partner and it let out a huge roar at me. Yeah, you re not so tough now, are you? I taunted. Suddenly, everything started rumbling. I realized what that mean. "No... not now! I've almost done it!" The volcano was going to erupt! Rubble started falling from all around, and the lava pool in the center of the room was getting higher! I started running for higher ground while dodging the falling rubble from the roof. The last head wasn't going to give up the fight. It wasn't even trying to attack me.

Suddenly, something huge and flaming hit me from behind! I rolled around to put the flames and to see what hit me. Behind me was the floating dragon head that I just beat! It was firing fireballs at me whenever I could! This was where the difficulty came. I did my best to dodge the rubble and the fireballs. I finally got in the position to hit back one of the fireballs. The fireball went back to the floating dragon head, but it dodged it. When I stopped to look, I got hit by some falling rubble. I knew I had to keep moving!

Finally, I got an idea. It was going to finish this dragon once and for all! The floating dragon head spat another fireball, but this time, I angled myself with the head in the middle and I hit the fireball so that it would go sailing at the other dragon head. That attack caught the other head off guard and it fell face-first into the lava in front of me. I raised my hammer and I slammed it down on top of its head and it sank into the lava. The lava bubbled where the lava used to be. Everything started violently rumbling even more. A blinding light shone in the middle of the lava. Suddenly, a brilliant red medallion shot out of the lava and hovered in the sky.

The lava started lowering to a lower level, revealing a stone pedestal in the middle. I walked down across a stone bridge spanning the lava to the pedestal. I put down the hammer and drew the Master Sword. I plunged the sword into the pedestal and the sword started glowing a warm red. After that, I pulled out the harmonica. I started playing the Bolero of Fire. The song felt even more strong and powerful here. The red light started shining in each of the cracks in the stone as the song continued, and along the walls. When I finished the song, the room felt a little cooler, and the volcano calmed down. It looked like this temple was purified. When I grabbed the Master Sword, I whited out.

When I came to, I was in the another white void. This time, there was a strong looking Goron in front of me. "Ah, so the new wielder of the Flamtaer Hammer is the same hero who holds the Master Sword." I nodded. "In that case, I must thank you! The hammer has not seen much use since the first time. Also, good work with defeating that magma dragon. I never would've thought of deflecting its shots back at it! Though, you humans don t do so well in the lava..."

I paused. "Um..."

"Oh, where are my manners? I am Darmani, the Sage of Fire. And I m here to give you the piece of the Triforce of Courage. But first, I must test you if you have the courage to wield it." Suddenly, a huge rock monster came up from no where. "Through your travels, you will face formidable resistance, but only you have the courage to see it through." He punched the rock monster and it fell to the ground. "But sometimes, you must know when to end a threat." He jumped up and punched the rock monster and it shattered in a million pieces. "This, is the finishing strike."

I paused. "So you're going to teach me to stab an enemy when it s down? Why couldn't I do this earlier?"

"Sometimes, one's fear can cause them to stand idle, even when there is no threat. You will harness your courage to end a monster s threat before it can recover." Another rock monster came up from the ground. "Now, attack." I drew the Master Sword and I lunged at it. I blocked its attack with a shield bash, and I followed up with a spin attack. "Now, finish it!" I leaped in the air and plunged the Master Sword into the rock monster's chest. It burst into a million pieces just as it did before. "Excellent. I can see the hero s spirit in you! Now take this, a piece of the golden power!" A light shone in his hands and it turned into another shard of the Triforce of Courage. Once I took the Triforce piece, an enormous power surged into me. I felt stronger, faster, and even more courageous!

After that, everything started turning white. "Remember, when all else fails, courage sees things through to the end."

The light died down, and I found myself back at the Fire Temple. The only noise was the flowing lava below me. I took the Master Sword and put it back in its sheath. Then, I just picked up the Flamtaer Hammer and I made my way out of the temple.


	33. Chapter 33: Repaired Relations

I covered my eyes from the sunlight as I exited the crater. The clouds of ash had cleared from Death Mountain once I defeated Fyrock. I stopped to take a look at the gorgeous view. I was so high up that it looked like I could see all of Hyrule! Just down the path, I could see Goron Village, and at the bottom of the mountain, I saw Kakariko Town. And all the way to the horizon stretched Hyrule field. It was absolutely breathtaking. Right in the middle of Hyrule Field was Castle Town, and the castle still had a huge barrier that was visible from even here. I frowned at the sight of it. It reminded me that my job wasn't even close to finishing…

It was actually a very peaceful hike down Death Mountain. No monsters, no eruptions, nothing. Unfortunately, it didn't last… I was met with a thunderous applause once I reached the village. Literally, it felt like the ground was shaking. "You calmed the mountain! You really are a true hero!"

The first Goron I met came up to me. "On behalf of all the Gorons, we name you our Sworn Brother." He gave me a soft pat on the back. It knocked me to the ground.

I slowly picked myself up. I had no idea what he meant by "sworn brother," but I figured it was fine. "Thanks. It's a huge…" Without warning, the Goron grabbed me and hugged me tightly. To get a grip of how tight this was, imagine the biggest bear hug you've been given, then multiply that by 5, and make the guy out of rock. I could've sworn that I heard something crack.

Luckily, the Goron elder came to rescue me. "Be gentle with the boy, he's been through much." The crowd of Gorons parted and the one holding me put me down. "You braved my brothers and the dangers in the Fire Temple to calm the mountain. One human did what an entire village of Gorons couldn't."

I shrugged modestly. "I did what I had to do." I was still getting used to this whole 'being a hero' thing…

"Well, what you did was noble, even for a human… By the way, did you find what you were looking for?" I nodded. "Well, if there's anything we can do, just ask."

I paused to think for a moment. "Well, there's a town at the bottom of the mountain. Maybe you could help each other?"

The Goron elder thought for a second. "For too long, we have only been concerned with our own needs. Perhaps the best way to get through this crisis is together… I will go with you. Perhaps we can come to an agreement with your human town!"

I nodded. "That's great! I'll meet you down there!" The Goron elder gathered two other Gorons and started rolling away. "Wait! I can't go that fast!" Apparently, they couldn't hear me, or they couldn't stop, because they kept rolling without me. I awkwardly made my way back down the trail.

After what seemed like ages, I finally made my way back to Kakariko town. The Gorons were just outside the town, and both Michelle and Michael were talking with them. It didn't look like it was a friendly talk, because they both had their weapons drawn.

"I'm telling you, we've only come down here to help!"

"We don't want your help. You've sent everyone we sent up the mountain to ask for help packing. Now you expect us to help you?"

"I know it seems far fetched, but we've realized that we were wrong…"

"And you suddenly realized how rough we have it here? Nice try, but now you're on our land. You should've stayed up on that mountain!"

Things looked like they were about to get ugly… I had to step in. "Wait! They're telling the truth!"

Both Michelle and Michael looked surprised to see me. "Link? You came back?"

I nodded. The Goron elder went to my side. "This human… Link… He was the only one with enough courage to venture into the volcano to purify the sacred Fire Temple and defeated the monster that was causing the volcano to erupt!"

They both looked at me in disbelief. "You… you actually went into the volcano? We thought that you weren't going to come back…"

The Goron elder nodded. "You truly have a good person on your side. He led us to think that if he had the courage to solve our problem, perhaps we could help your problems…"

Michelle just stared at us for a moment. She looked like she was speechless. She put her hand on Michael's hammer as she put away her sword. "Alright. If you're willing to talk, we should at least be willing to listen." She motioned for them to follow her. Both Michael and the Gorons left, leaving me behind.

While I walked back into town, someone was running towards me. "Haha! I knew there was something special about you when I first saw you!" It was Cam. He patted me on the back. It was pretty hard, but nothing like the Gorons. "Come with me, I'll introduce you to the rest of the group! Don't worry, Michelle would probably do the same thing!" Cam led me back to the inn.

"This here is our base of operations. I know it isn't much, but it's cost effective, and it's easy to stay hidden. We're in a town full of Hylians… the royal family couldn't care less about looking here! And here's the owners of this establishment. This is John, and his wife, Ariel." I recognized them as the two actors in that play I saw when I first arrived!

"We're also the Hylian loremasters in the group." John added. "We've scoured all of Hyrule to find the lost legends of the Hylian Princess Zelda. The amount of stories we've amassed over the years would amaze you…"

I nodded, wondering exactly how they got said information. "Um… was it you two that were doing that play in here?"

"You saw that?" Ariel replied. "Yes, that was us! John wrote it himself!"

"It was supposed to be based on the stories of the Ocarina of Time… but condensed enough to be enjoyable and entertaining. I'm a writer, myself!" John said proudly. "I'm actually writing a new play myself! It's my own creation based off of the legends! I'm calling it, 'The Adventures of Link and the Faces of Evil!'"

I didn't like the sound of that… "Right…" I said, trying to spare his feelings. "Let me know when you're done with that…"

Cam continued his tour. Sitting down around a map of Hyrule were two more girls. "You've met Holly already… well, this is Amy. They both are on our scouting parties. They scout out the Royal Guard forces, monster locations, allies… you name it!"

"Did you really stop the volcano and recruit the Gorons?" Holly asked excitedly. I nodded. "On top of stopping the Deku from kidnapping the villagers? Will your wonders ever stop?"

"There's supposed to be one more with you…" Cam continued. "Where's Collin?"

"He's off with his girlfriend…" Amy simply replied.

They all sighed. "I knew there was a reason why he wanted to stay on the homefront…" Cam continued with his tour. "Since Noel isn't currently here, this is her apprentice, Brandi."

"Oh, we've actually met already. How did that potion treat you?" She said.

"I haven't had to use it yet, but I'm saving it."

"Ah, so you really are that good…"

"Not only does she make remedies for us,but she sells her mixtures to the rest of the village!"

Brandi shrugged modestly. "It's an honest living."

"And that's everyone. Aside from Michael and Michelle, of course."

"I'm curious, what exactly do those two do?"

"Well, Michael is the director of the missions we do. He's the best fighter we have, and he's no slouch when it comes to punching a hole in the New Hyrule forces. As for Michelle… well, she's the one who ties us all together. She does a bit of everything, planning, recruiting, diplomacy… all her. And that's all of us. Together, we're the Hylian Resistance."

"But… you're all Ascii… doesn't that make you a bit alien to the Hylians?"

Cam got a serious look on his face. "Boy, these people have been oppressed for years! They're certainly not going to resist on their own. What they need is hope… but we never really had much of that… even before the bridge was destroyed. The only chance we might have is if the Hylian Princess returned… Princess Zelda?" I nodded in confirmation. "You said something about Princess Zelda to Michelle before you went to Death Mountain… I just hope what you were saying was true…" The door to the inn suddenly opened. "Ah, Michelle's back…" Cam said. Both Michelle and Michael came in to the desk. "Well?"

"We struck a deal with the Gorons." Michelle replied. There was an applause from the group. "Some of their children are sick from the volcanic soot… if we find a way to heal them, they'll help fix the bridge."

"Well, that shouldn't be too difficult… Brandi?" Brandi shook her head. "I'm trained with human illnesses, not Goron illnesses…"

"We'll have to think of something… this is too important to ignore." Michelle turned to me. "Another thing… Link… we want you to join us."

I was speechless. This caught me completely by surprise. "You want me to join you?"

"Not so fast…" Michael interrupted. "You have to prove yourself first."

"You mean killing two ancient monsters and calming a volcano isn't proof enough?" I said, feeling pretty insulted.

"Relax… everyone has to do this to begin with…" Michelle said.

"You'll be going through the Gauntlet." Michael said. "It's a rigorous test of all the skills you'll need to join our group."

I took a moment to compose myself. "Okay, I'll go through your Gauntlet…"

Michelle nodded. "Just give us a moment to get ready and we'll see you outside." A good majority of the group went out the door.

Cam put his hand on my shoulder to get my attention. "Link, the Gauntlet is nothing to scoff at. I've seen many young men just like you try and fail, both Hylian and Ascii. You'll need to be at the top of your game to even have a chance at clearing it…"

I nodded, filled with resolve. "I'll be ready."


	34. Chapter 34: The Gauntlet

I walked outside, mentally preparing myself for what this "Gauntlet" had in store for me. Michelle and Michael were standing in the street. They had a handful of wooden targets in the streets and around the buildings. "You ready, Link?" Michelle asked as I walked up. I nodded. "Great."

"There are four challenges in the Gauntlet." Michael explained. "The first challenge is the Archery Challenge." He pointed down the main street. "There are five targets out there. If you hit all five of them, you pass."

I stared down at the targets. There was one in plain sight, but the others were a bit hard to notice. "Sounds easy enough."

"Do you have your own bow?" Michelle asked. I nodded as I pulled it out.

"Not so fast, hotshot…" Michael said. He took the quiver, and took out most of the arrows. "You only get ten shots. Make them count." He said, handing it back to me. His attitude took a bit of the swagger out of me, but I decided not to let it bother me much… I carefully aimed at the first target, directly in front of me. I fired my first arrow, and it easily hit the target. "Nice shot." Michelle commented.

"That was the easy one." Michael coldly replied. He pointed to another one in a window of an old building. "Try that one next." I notched another arrow and I carefully aimed at that same target. I let the arrow fly, and it hit the target.

I noticed someone else poke her head out the window. "It's a perfect hit!" I heard Brandi shout.

I smiled and notched another arrow. This one was on top of a barrel to the side. I fired the arrow, and this one hit. This time, I saw Amy look at the target. "It's a bull's eye!"

I was feeling really proud of myself now. There was another target on the other side of the street, but this one was much farther away. I took a moment to adjust my aim and I let the arrow fly. I saw Holly poke out from the building to inspect the target. "Another perfect shot!" She shouted.

I wasn't entirely sure if it was the two shards of the Triforce of Courage that was making me skilled with archery, or I was just that good. Either way, I was on a roll! The last target was hanging on a wire spanning across the street. It swayed back and forth in the wind blowing through the town. I knew this one would be the hardest to hit. I carefully aimed one more arrow and let it fly at the perfect moment. Holly ran across the street to stare at the last target. "It's a perfect shot! Five perfect shots! That's incredible!"

Michelle smiled, clearly impressed. "Wow! That's great! Hardly anyone's got one perfect shot, much less five perfect shots!"

Michael had his arms crossed. "I don't know. Maybe he got lucky."

Michelle sighed. "You just can't give this guy any credit, can you?"

"Just hear me out… If he's really so talented, he should have no problem hitting the flagpole on the lookout tower." He stepped forward and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey! Jen!" There was a faint shout. "Keep an eye out! He's going to try to hit that flagpole!" There was another shout, the person on the lookout didn't seem to be happy about that. "There. That should be a good enough challenge for him."

"Michael, stop. He's already more than proven himself."

"No, I wanna see if he can do this. He's got five arrows left, I want to see if he can do it!"

I silently watched the two of them argue. I just decided to try to hit that flagpole. I notched an arrow and I aimed at the flagpole at the lookout tower on the other side of town. Obviously, this was a very difficult shot. I let the arrow fly. I couldn't see where it landed. I heard some angry sounding chatter. "Great job. You almost took out our best lookout." Michael said.

I took the time to glare at him before notching another arrow. This time, I adjusted my aim to keep from hitting the person on the lookout. I fired another arrow. I lost track of where it flew. There was another shout. "Ooh, so close!" Michael replied. I was getting upset now. I might've let my frustration show. The other arrows were a wild shot, but luckily, they weren't anywhere near the lookout tower.

Michelle sighed. "Don't worry about it, Link. You've already passed this one. You don't have to prove anything." I sighed, too. I knew that I didn't have to, but I really wanted to prove that I could. This time, I really focused. I aimed for that flagpole, factoring in all my failed attempts. I let my last arrow fly.

I heard an excited sounding shout. "He got it…" Michael said, in disbelief.

"So, what was that about being lucky?" I replied. Michael stayed silent, soundly defeated.

Michelle was just as amazed. "Wow… that's incredible. L-Let's get you to the next challenge." Michelle nudged Michael's shoulder and they moved down the main street while the others took down the targets. I followed them.

This time, they led me down to a stable at the end of town. "The second challenge is horseback riding. Naturally, horseback is the fastest way to get around Hyrule, so you'll have to be good at it." Michelle pointed to a huge field just outside the canyon the town was set in. "We set a small obstacle course in the field out there. If you get through that in about two minutes, you pass."

"You do know how to ride a horse, right?" I paused. I decided to be honest and I shook my head. Michael scoffed. "This should be good."

Michelle wasn't amused. "Michael, why don't you go get ready for the last challenge?" Michael paused for a moment, then went away. She beckoned to the horses. "Well? Pick a horse…"

I climbed over the fence and looked around. There were plenty of horses, but they all were minding their own business. How would I ever find the right horse for me? As I was walking around, I noticed that I was being followed. There was a horse following me around, as if it were begging me to ride her. I decided to climb on. "Um… are you sure you want that one?" Michelle asked. "That's Epona… we haven't been able to train her…"

I gave her an odd look. "She seems fine to me…"

Michelle got an odd look, too. "Yeah… she does… Well, go out to the obstacle course…"

I nodded. "Alright…" I took a hold of the reins. "Um… go that way… Epona." I tried steering the horse. There wasn't a response at first, but Epona eventually went over to the field where the obstacle course.

I sighed. In case it wasn't painfully obvious, I had no idea what I was doing. I took a deep breath. "Well, here goes nothing…" I slapped the reins for the horse to go. Suddenly, the horse took off running! I held on tightly. Epona was leaping over each of the obstacles as if I were doing it myself! I grabbed onto the reins again and I at least tried to steer the horse through the obstacle course. Oddly enough, for the most part, I didn't have any resistance…

I rode up to Ariel. Apparently, she was keeping the time. "How did I do?"

Ariel looked like she was in disbelief. "One minute, 45 seconds… It's not a record, but it's unheard of for someone who literally started riding ten minutes ago… And that horse… no one ever rode her and didn't get beaten."

I shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you…"

"It's like she was born to be ridden by you… Why don't you go back? You passed this challenge!" I rode Epona back to the stable and I was met by John.

"Ah! Link! Glad you could come back! I heard you passed the first two challenges with flying colors!" John led me back to the inn. "Now, I'm here for your third challenge."

"Alright, what's this challenge?"

"This is the test of knowledge. To be in this group, you have to know what we fight for. As lorekeeper of the ancient legends, I'll be sure you know enough to pass."

I nodded. "I'm ready."

"What is the name of the Ancient Hylian Princess?"

"That's an easy one. Zelda."

John nodded. "Correct. Now, what was the magical item that allowed the princess into the Sacred Realm?"

I thought for a moment. "It was an ocarina, the Ocarina of Time."

John nodded again. "Excellent! Now, who was the ancient villain that stole the Triforce in the old kingdom?"

I made an act of thinking. These questions were so easy! "Ganondorf."

John clapped. "Excellent! Three out of three correct! You've passed!"

I wasn't as impressed. "Um… could you remind me why this is important?"

John paused. "Not many people care about those old legends. They view them as times long past, filled with evil overlords and fierce monsters. They wouldn't know even if they were living in a legend themselves… Enough of my speeches. Michelle is waiting for you out back. Your last challenge awaits you!"

I walked out the back door into some sort of garden. It apparently doubled as a training area since there was several training dummies and a dirt arena in the center. Michelle was waiting in the center. "Okay, Link. This is your final challenge. This is the test of strength. Since we're determined to battle both the roaming monsters and the New Hyrulian forces, you will need to be fierce in battle." She beckoned to someone out of sight.

The next thing I heard was the thumping of heavy metal boots. It sounded like someone in armor. Michael came stomping out of the awning, wearing a suit of armor, designed similarly to their uniform. "Your last challenge is simple." He said in a condescending tone. "You just have to hit me ten times before I hit you once." He held the same axe I first saw him with in front of him. "I'm going to enjoy this…"

I drew my sword and shield. "I'm ready for you. I can take anything you can dish out!"

"Yeah, we'll see!" Michael lunged forward with his axe. I barely jumped out of the way. "Nice moves, but you'll need a lot more than fancy moves to pass this one!" He swung his axe again. I held up my shield. It was a heavy hit and I staggered back a couple steps. I ran forward and I swung the Master Sword. Michael held his axe in a defensive position, and it clanged against the pole. "Nice try… luckily, blocked hits don't count." He pushed me aside and he swung his axe down. I jumped to the side, and I lunged into his side before he could pick up his axe again.

"Oof, that's just one hit. You'll need to do better than that!" I dodged his next hit, and swung my sword against his armor. The next several moments were of me dodging his axe, Michael blocking my sword, blocking his axe with my shield, and hitting him in return. I felt like I had a good pattern going on when he suddenly blocked my last hit with the end of his axe. It caught me off guard, and he slammed the flat part of the axe into me, knocking me down.

I sat up, while Michael stood his axe on the ground, smiling smugly. Michelle stood next to me while I stood up. "Well? How many hits did he get on you?"

Michael kept smiling for a while. The suspense was killing me! He finally simply said, "Twelve."

I got excited. I hadn't been keeping track, because he blocked a lot of my shots. "Twelve hits! That means I passed!"

Michael nodded. "Good job. You're one of us now. Try not to disappoint us."

I figured that was as much of a compliment that I was going to get from the guy. "Thanks."

Apparently, the others had gathered while I was fighting Michael. The whole resistance was in here. "Link, for passing through the Gauntlet, we see that you are skilled enough to help in our quest to free the Hylian race. We have some things to give you. Holly already gave you a bomb bag, so here's some other things." Michelle handed me a strange looking knapsack. "This is a bag of holding. Unless you like carrying all your things around like a pack mule, you'll definitely want to use this.

I immediately put on the knapsack. I was getting tired of carrying around everything on my person. It got a bit awkward to run around with… "Holly mentioned that you already have a bomb bag, and she taught you how to use it, so I'll skip that part." Michelle gave me a strange keychain. "This is your horse call. Just blow on it and your horse will come running straight for you, no matter where you are."

I took the keychain. Michelle handed me a book. "And this is the monster manual. This lists all the information of monsters we've seen, and even some monsters we haven't seen. It's still a work in progress, so don't be afraid to add your own notes."

I took the book. "I'll be sure to read it from cover to cover."

Michelle nodded. "And that's it. You're one of us now. Don't be shy, we'll have something for you soon, so don't worry. For now, why don't you mingle around here? The people could use another friendly face around here." Michelle walked out, Michael followed her, and everyone else followed suit.

I decided to stop Cam before he left. "Um, I'm out of arrows. Where can I get some more?"

"Hmm? Oh, just go to the general store. It's got everything." I nodded and went right to the general store. Luckily, it was next door.

I was surprised to see Michael behind the counter. "Well, if it isn't our new recruit!" I paused. "You look a bit surprised, so I'll explain. I tend to the general store when I'm not busy. So, what do you need?"

"Well, I still need some arrows. You took them all, remember?"

"Right, I got a bundle of 20 arrows right here… for 50 rupees."

"What? I have to pay to get my arrows back?"

"Nothing's free just because we're out saving Hyrule. It's a legitimate business we're running here! Besides, how else are we supposed to pay for making this place not look like a slum?"

I sighed, defeated. "Fine, here's 50 rupees." I said, putting the money on the table.

Michael had a smug grin on his face. "Pleasure doing business with you."


End file.
